Until the pre-state institutions decided where to settle them, the members were sent to work at established settlements in the Galilee, such as Yavne'el.

[citation needed] Yakum is located on lands which used to belong to the depopulated Palestinian village of Khirbat al-Zababida.

[4] The kibbutz struggled financially during the first years, dependent on growing oranges, managing the herd of milking cows, cultivating field crops and mining "Zif-zif" (used as sand for building in Israel).

[citation needed] In 1947 the kibbutz operated a small underground weapons factory, manufacturing Sten guns.

[citation needed] Yakum is now an industrial collective, and tries to take advantages of its local real-estate instead of agriculture.