430 camels are expected to be numbered under an initiative started last week
WADI RUM -- Mohammad Salem Zawaida grasped a hot metal bar and swiftly stamped it against the right rear leg of a camel, the scorching piece against the flesh sizzling for a few seconds. The kneeling camel groaned fiercely, restrained by half a dozen men and tied hind legs, as the pungent odour of burnt hair filled the air.
The branding process takes only a few minutes for each animal, but the unique number will allow the animal's owner for years to use the camel as tourist transportation.
Camel owners in Wadi Rum are hurrying to get their animals branded; before the end of this week, most of the area's 430 camels are expected to be numbered under an initiative started last week.
The USAID-funded Jordan Tourism Development Project, Siyaha, financed the project as part of a plan to develop tourism services in Wadi Rum.
"Camel stamping is a tradition used to distinguish camels of different tribes in the desert," said Zawaida as he stood next to a camel being readied for branding.
"The camel is tradition, it's the ship of the desert," he added.
Some 140,000 tourists visit Wadi Rum every year, and 40 per cent of them, according to a Siyaha survey, have a desire to explore the area by riding on camelback. Only 2 per cent of visitors, however, actually hire a camel.
"Most of tourists wouldn't use camel because they don't feel comfortable or safe," said Ramez Habash, tourism and community development specialist at Siyaha.
Branding camels, where the number serves as a licence, will help tackle this problem as camels are not branded until a team of local experts confirm that the camel is healthy and tamed, said Habash.
According to Zawaida, a local camel expert, the animal should be at least three years old to be fit for transporting tourists. He explained that there are taming specialists who spend between 15 days to two months to train a camel.
The wadi, Arabic for valley, is in reality more of a tableland, with pillars rising from what has been likened to a moonscape. Climbers visit to scale the area's granite and sandstone cliffs, and most of the tourists would hire four-wheel jeeps to cruise through the natural reserve of beautifully shaped mountains and rock formations.
"Six tourists would take one jeep. But if we encourage them to tour the area on camels, they'll use six camels, which means six families will benefit from this," said Habash.
An additional benefit, he added, is that "using camels will limit the destruction caused by four-wheel-drive vehicles" to the local environment.
This project, as well as financing ventures to craft souvenirs from local material including camel hide and bone, and stone, are part of the overall Siyaha intent to enhance tourists' experience.
Siyaha, a three-year project, is planning to funnel some $3 million in tourism-related projects in Wadi Rum and Madaba. The work in Wadi Rum started earlier this year and the project staff will work with the local community-based and governmental organisations to set the area on track to be a "world class" tourist destination.
By Mahmoud Habboush
© Jordan Times 2006
