Back on the camel trail….

Well its been a long time since i have posted…..i was gone but i hadn’t forgotten.

I went through a dramatic period in my life from early February until end of July, i thought all was lost and all my work finished with the Bedouin community here in Dahab. But i never gave up (even when i was on my last legs, i was given signs to keep me going), maybe i will go into this in more detail another time. But thankfully it seems all is almost as it was in January.

Some things have changed, lessons learned, new experiences gained. But through it all i am back on the camel trail with the Mozina Tribe in Dahab. Sheikh Salem House is open and we have now an excellent team of staff. Ok not all the time but nobody’s perfect, we are growing and learning everyday.  We are an unusual place to stay, really the house of the Sheikh Salem again! We have several staff called Salem and even more staff called Gomer at the moment there is 5 (or Juma, Goma or there are many more spellings!). Gomer is Friday in Arabic and is the name usually given to boys born on a Friday  - which is the holy day in Islam.

Shortly after we re opened we were greated by a lazy camel on the beach on several mornings. It turned out he was taken to eating the roof of our cafe arisha (arisha means outdoor seating area, usually covered with the leaves from the palm tree) and he would then laze on the beach until midday.

A few mornings after our last sighting we found he had bought a friend along! They made quite a nice job of trimming one and half sides, they still have a bit to go. But they havent been around so much recently, maybe there owners have better control of them now or more food for them.  But the funny thing is our cafe is called the Lazy Camel and sure enough there he was for several days after we re opened!

So we are all back on the camel trail, doing what we all love best. Helping people to get the most out of their visits to South Sinai, providing incomes for our local families and bringing about positives vibes to our little town of Dahab.

We still have a long way to go and we still have to face adversity and criticism, but at least the spirit of Sheikh Salem is alive again in his house.  He was a strong Sheikh who wanted the best for his tribes people. He was keen for their growth and development and above all their service in the local tourism industry. His wish is fulfilled at Sheikh Salem House, the house he built for his family.

Our work involves women as well as men, we have started projects to develop handicrafts and have a fair trade bedouin craft shop in our guest house. Our work currently provides income to many women in Dahab. We provide cultural information and useful local information so if in Dahab come and do what the local bedouins do….come and have a bedouin tea and chat.

http://www.sheikhsalemhouse.com

As recommended by local camels ; )

A bite to eat at the Lazy Camel Cafe

Eat and Chill with the Lazy Camel

As recommended by local camels ; )

– bos mafesh wogit (but no time)

Happy New Year to all who have been reading turning bedouin, i find it hard to believe we have made it into 2009! Time flies but it seems some people arent having fun : (

Of course i talk abut what is going on to the North of us as i write, people here are shocked that these problems still continue after 41 years. It makes us feel like we are not in 2009, everytime i turn on the tv i think i am back in the 1970’s seeing tanks and soldiers in gaza (just as i did when i was a little girl).

Time should make us learn our lessons from our past, but it seems time does not heal, or do us any favours.

Anyway apart from the crisis in Gaza, i havent had much time to turn bedouin of late. The Bedouin here in Dahab in turn havent had much time to escape, it seems they and us are all in a state of crisis in one way or another.

Some people here are feeling the credit crunch, whilst others have seen friends or family injured in car accidents, others are working hard and have no time for themselves. We are all in the same boat, no time.

The changes to everyones lives last year pushed up prices of basic food items and costs of living but who has been lucky enough to earn more? Very few! So this time of year we all want to turn bedouin (even our Dahab Bedouin would love to escape to the mountains for a few days), but we all have no time.

But this year i am starting the new year with an inspired stance (despite the problems around), i have meet a few people this last week who have read this blog and have done something positive for Bedouin communities in Sinai as a result of it. This makes me smile and gives me the determination to carry on blogging.

I love the Bedouin people in Dahab, they smile and are cheery despite the fact that they all have their own problems. ( Just as i have just been writing this) i have had a local lady bring me some of the new bags and cushion covers she has made. Her inspiration comes from pictorical ideas which she turns into an abstract pattern.

Oma Swerwy has just delivered a cushion cover with goat skin applique. I will post a pic on my next time blogging. Its amazing, she has so much design talent she puts some people to shame. But each piece also takes her much time to make, for which she wishes also she has more time to make more so that she can more and in return make more income for her family.

Two minutes after her son Gomar comes to find the guests that have booked a Bedouin desert dinner with him. He also suffers from mafesh wogit! He wants to start making 5 day camel safaris, but he has not time to focus on his main business let alone start any of the new ideas he has.

So we all carry on together, taking each day as it comes. Seeing what challenges life will throw at us this year. One thing that keeps us all smiling is the fact that as years go, can any be worse than 2008 was? We dont think so, so this time and this year we can wallah hagga, let anything happen. We might not have time but we have courage and power and perserve for another year : )

The Tribe – Keep it in the family

The time i have spent with the Bedouin in South Sinai has taught me much about the importance of family, tribes and loyalty.  The strength of family bonds seems greater in the Middle East than it does in the western world.  So in this last month i have infact been trying to see how my own family history can compare to the people in South Sinai.

When a Bedouin greets a fellow Bedouin who is from ‘outside’ of their own local area  or family they are supposed to announce their name followed by the names of their father, their fathers father, fathers fathers father and so on up to 10 generations. So we are talking about each Bedouin knowing his family history up to 10 generations ago so about 400 years of family history.

The reason it is customary to announce this information is so that it can be gauged how this person might be related to the next person. This also then serves the host in understanding how important the guest is and the level of hospitality suitable for the guest.

Today we are lucky enough to have a wealth of information at our disposal to help us in tracing our family trees. However the Muziena Bedouin do tend t know at least 8 generations back. Although this is not so true for the younger generation those aged less than 30 years who seem to only know as far back as their grandfathers or maybe great grandfathers. So it seems this tradition of knowing your family history is becoming less common in South Sinai. It is not needed as much aqs it would have been 50 years ago. When the South Sinai Bedouin were nomadic they would rely more on the hospitality of others as they travelled, these days the car and toyota have replaced the camel and journeys last hours instead of days.

The tradition was on arrival to a new place the ‘head of the family’ would visit the ‘head’ of the hosts family and would say for example ‘ I am Mohamed, Abu Ahmed, Abu Salem, Abu Walid, Abu Musa, Abu Mohamed, Abu …….’ until 10 generations of fathers names were given and the location from which the family generally derived.

Upon hearing this the host would welcome the people to take the tradition of hospitalilty food and lodging for up to three days. All Bedouin tribes would offer this to passing guests and their families.

So i decided to see if i could find 10 generations of ancestors myself using my PC and the access of websites like roots web and genealogy forums.

I found there was not much in the way of free information on the web so i signed up to a paid subscription to see how far back i could go. I was fasinated and excited about tracing back my faimly history.

I knew as far back as my great grandfather born in 1874 so i had a fair starting point. But i didnt get very far! I have now as far back as 5 generations up to 1800, but i havent got any further. Im stuck, i cant get into the 1700’s as the records kept then were not good, census and birth records were not regularly kept. So i have found that my great great great great grandfather was a farmer from Cambridgshire (this was unexpected, i always thought my fathers faimly came from Norfolk and Wiltshire).

So it is very difficult for someone to know 10 generations back, unless their faimly has kept their own records which have been passed from generation to generation. I am impressed that so many Bedouin people do have this information and many in South Sinai can trace back their ancestors to Saudi Arabia pre 1600! Phew….we are talking a lot of family history, kept because they understood the importance of such knowledge in helping them with their travelling life styles.

Fortunately we dont need this level of information in todays travelling age. But i am dissapointed that i cant trace back my family history further at the moment. I have surname which is often mispelt so this might not help and also the spellling has changed over the last 200 years. But the investigation has been interesting, in know understand why i love the natural life style, why i am passionate about being green and eco friendly, why i like to grow plants and flowers at least.

As for our Bedouin tribes, they still hold on firmly to the importance of tribes and families, much more than us westerners. They protect their faimlies with vigor and will in some cases go to extremes to protect their tribe and their family honour. One thing i realise is that this is not a bad thing (as long as it does not involve violence). It is nice that family is important and that even distant relations are close to each other.

Keep it in the family is a saying that definately rings true for the Bedouin community here, the strength and support that close family ties bring to each individual in the family group is a good thing. So i will not give up on my faimly tree quest just yet.

I am also encouraging the younger Bedouin people not to lose their family history, in learning about your past you can sometimes understand why you do what you do, who you are and what you can do to help others. Its a fasinating story for your children to listen to and with any luck you find family that you never even knew you had : )

Dahab Dates

Its been a while since i have written anything so i thought today is a good day to catch up and blog again. A huge amount of things have happened in the last few weeks so i will cover as much as i can!

Dahab Dates

Dahab dates is not going to be a story about dating! Its about the dates from the date palm tree of which there are a few hundred in Dahab. According to Bedouin law each palm tree is owned by the person who orginally planted the tree or the tree belongs to the orginal owner of the land on which the palm tree is situated. So if a land that has palm trees is sold the palm trees themselves are not included in the sale and will always belong to the orginal owner.

So when the date palm produces dates, the fruits belong to the ‘ bedouin owner’ of the palm tree. In August the date palms in Dahab bear there very tasty dates. This summer was exceptional, the dates were lovely.

But for all the people with date palms in their gardens they had to allow the ‘owners’ to come and pick them off the trees. Some were lucky to get a few of the dates, whilst others didnt!

The Date Palm Trees in Dahab also have another interesting story behind them. Dahab is the only town in Sinai to have two different types of Date Palm Trees. We have the standard date palm which bears deep purple coloured dates, but also there is the gold date palm tree. The gold date palm produces extra sweet golden coloured dates. The only other place in the world that has these dates is in Saudi Arabia. So maybe we have discovered the real reason why Dahab was called Dahab! (Gold is Dahab in Arabic!).

With Ramadan coming early this year the dates were all gone by mid September. During Ramadan a lovely date drink is prepared to mark the breakfast and is drunk before the the breakfast meal is eaten in the evening. (The drinking of the date drink is after sunset and then the main breakfast meal is eaten).  Next year the date season will fall during Ramadan, which will start in August when the heat is at its highest.

Dahab dates are delicious, eating 10 is the equivilent of eating a good meal and they are very good for the body. They are a staple part of the diets in Egypt.

Date Palms in Dahab

Ramadan in Dahab this year was exceptionally quiet, most of the people preffered to sleep during the day than work, which made things difficult for those trying to run businesses (including me!). It was a good job Dahab didnt have too many guests during this time! But to be honest coming to Dahab during Ramadan is one of the nicest times to come, its quiet and peaceful and very relaxing.

Next year the date season and Ramadan will be at the same time, it will be very hot in the day so everyone will try and sleep in the daytime for sure. So if you want to come to our sleepy town, come next August if you need to relax but dont come if you actually want to do anything! Dont plan to go on desert safaris, dont plan to do anything next August in Dahab other than sleep, swim (to cool off) or snorkel to see the fish who wont be asleep in the daytime!

Visit our website for more information about Bedouin culture and holidays in Dahab, Sinai

Turning Bedouin……Naturally

Bedouins live a natural life style, their lives were reliant on the conditions around them. The nomadic route that the Bedouins of South Sinai would take would be dependent on the season.

In Spring they would be up in the high mountains to catch the benefit of the seasonal rains, in Summer they would head to the red sea coasts to benefit from the cooling effect of life by the sea and catching fresh fish. In late summer they would move towards the Oases where the date palms would be ready with fresh dates. In winter they would stay in valleys close to the coast where they would be protected from the chilly winter winds, or close to the high mountains (Mount Sinai area) to again benefit from the water this time being delivered by the melting snow from South Sinai.

Hence the nomads life dictated by the seasons and the naturally avalible resources. Therefore Bedouins would eat from fresh food as much as possible, benefiting from seasonal fruits and vegetables which they could grow in the mountain areas in winter and spring, or from those that can grow in the harsher summer climates (like the dates). They would put what they could into storage for later – dates keep extremely well, fish would be dried and preserved in salt.

They would keep for emergencies some supplies and trade the rest with other tribes for other items they need. This is why they lived in tents, easy to move from place to place.

Not only would they eat natural food but they would use natural remedies for curing illness. Bedouin herbal medicine is highly advanced and there are cures for most ailments. Currently several projects to research Bedouin Medicine are taking place to study this. I myself have benefitted from Bedouin herbs for a number of health problems.

We find oursleves in 2008 looking backwards at the way things were and looking forward to how we can simplify our lives and live more naturally again. This is the best way forward for us in this world where we are now threatend by climate change, by increasing costs for energy and fuel and all our other pressures in life.

Returning to a simple natural life is not a bad thing at all. Come and visit our Bedouin communities in Sinai and see who is happier the Bedouin living in a desert valley or the people living in towns aqnd cities. Also come and see why their is always a sparkle in their eyes, for their knowledge holds the key to many things which have gone wrong in our lives. From there the shift back to nature can begin in a new way that brings together all the knoweldge of our grand fathers with our new knowledge based on the experiences we face in the world today.

So before eating your meal, think about the food on your plate and where it has come from. Think about how it has been made and the distances it has travelled to get there and finally eat it slowly savouring the flavours for full appreciation of the naturally good things in life. Then you can start your return back to what is naturally good.

Food for thought i hope!

The Bedouin Wedding Season

Like most parts of the world summertime is the Bedouin Wedding Season. I write this blog today as a good friend of mine got married on Saturday. She is one of the Bedouin women who did not rush into marriage and her family supported her in her decission to reject many of the potential men who wanted to marry her.

She is one of the new generation of Bedouin women who has been working and mixing with tourists since she was a young girl. Her name (for blog purposes only) is Nora and she has become one of my best friends in Dahab and she has enlightened me to many bedouin ways and customs.

From the age of 16 potential husbands started approaching her for marriage, but she refused them all for many reasons – some including ‘didnt like his mind’, ‘didnt like the way he looked at me’, ‘didn’t like his mother’ etc. Instead she did what many women do, waited for Mr Right.

Two months ago she found him, and she came smilling to me and said ‘hey im getting married soon’. I will never forget the sparkle in her eyes when she told me this time she had found a nice man who loves her and wants to care for her. I was so happy that she no longer had to listen to anymore men offering her marriage and that she had found one with a good mind and good heart. Right now she is on her honeymoon in Ras Sudr and when she returns to Dahab she will live with her husband – her first time ever living away from the safety and security of the family house.

She is one of the new generation who will not settle for 2nd best and was determined to wait for a good match for her intelligence.

So this blog today is to wish her much happiness with her new husband : )

The Bedouin wedding is an amazing spectacle especially when it is held on a full moon. The women wear shawls embelished with sequins that sparkle under the moon light while they dance to the rhythum of the drum.

The wedding is held over three days, the first night is a party for the man getting married with his family, the second is for the woman and her family and the third night is usually the big party when all the families come together to celebrate. This is the night when the party is usually in the desert and when most of Dahabs Bedouin will not be in the town. The party attracts Bedouins from all over Sinai who are family or friends of the bride and groom.

Bedouin Wedding Shawl

During this wedding the men would go around the wadi (valley) on their camels and this would be a spectacle in itself. But today with the camel more likely to have been replaced by the Toyota Pick Up the parade is like watching a stock car race. The toyotasweave around the valley, horns beeping and people cheering. Very interesting to watch and a great advert for the versitilty of the Toyota Pick up in the desert.

Toyota...the modern Bedouin camel

As night falls the drums and the simsimia ( a string instrument traddtional to Bedouin music) start, the clapping and singing beggings. The single unmarried bedouin ladies all take turns to dance in front of the unmarried men in the hope that a good man may ask for her hand in marriage. This part of the wedding is the most amazing to watch showing that Bedouin culture is someting to nuture  and preserve.

So long live the tradditional Bedouin wedding, and the Bedouin culture here in Sinai and heres to love, marriage and happiness : )

Marbrouk to Nora and Gomer may they live in happiness and much love together :  )

Turning Bedouin……i wish!

Today is one of those days when i wish so much i could just retreat into the desert for a week and not have to worry about any one or anything! It has been over 2 years since i had anything that could vaguely be described as a holiday. For me a holiday is at least three days away from it all and since i haven’t even had one day off since March i am starting to feel it.

Im not saying that i am hard done by in any shape or form, i work next to the sea in Dahab, Sinai one of the most beautiful places in the world. But even in a beautiful place you still need to get away from it all : )

Dahab has been full of drama since i arrived here. The town is changing from a tourist village to a tourist resort and there are certain people who like to make big problems! For some reason i thought making a business here would be easy, how wrong was i? Very very wrong indeed.

The problem for people like me is lack of truthful information, one person says one thing, some else says something else and you get confused and feel helpless.  Some of the worst problems are caused by the lawyers who take advantage of ‘newbies’ like myself. 

So i could write a seriously long blog about things like this but i really dont have the time. All i wish right now is that i could get off on a camel into a place where i cant be contacted for a week. No mobile, no internet, no email, no facebook. Wow…..in my dreams maybe ; ) Places still exist in this world but they are getting fewer and fewer.

In Sinai in the valleys away from Dahab, Sharm and St Catherines there are places where you cant get reception on your cell phone and no electricity. You can sleep under the stars and see thousands more than in the towns, you can still really get away from it all. But for me this bliss is still a long way off.

I keep asking myself why have us humans made our lives so complicated? Why do we keep adding more and more to our busy schedules, isn’t it time to say no and to start demanding some me time! I think people are starting to think like this but it will take a while before we really see any changes.

I came here for a relaxing and easy life but i got it all wrong! Ive ended up with a more stressful life than i left behind in London – maybe it was just supposed to be like that for me. I have always liked a challenge and now i am being pushed to my limits. I used to have a saying ‘Dont limit your challenges, challenge your limits!’ – mmm yes i got what i preached then! lol : )

Ok so here is my new saying ‘less is more’….i hope it works! I know that after all this when i do finally get my chance for a nice escape i will appreciate it even more than if i hadn’t off struggled and become tired and exhausted. For sure i will really really appreciate it much more.

People need holidays for their own health as well as for their own sanity! Some people though go on holiday and i have noticed that they dont rest. Some dont relax at all and have to plan their holiday to a schedule that  does not give them a break at all. They end up back at work more exhausted than when they left.

As a rule of thumb it seems to take most people around three days to aclimatise and unwind in a new destination, but some dont even give themselves a day! I know the world is a big place and there is lots to see but why do this to yourself when you spend about 250 days a year like this. Most people when they have a day off work have to get on with house work, shopping, sorting out bills and other chores. Where is the me time? Where is the relaxation?

So today i wish i was turning bedouin, i wish for some ‘less is more’ time and i wish for others to give themselves a chance to recover from there daily burdens and to stop running around like headless chickens for a change. For after the me time you become stronger with better energy and ideas to make everything in your life better. So remember less can actually be more : ) ……i wish!

Camel in Sinai Desert

Everyone wants to be Bedouin

Recently i have been thinking about how many people would like their workplaces to go Bedouin style. How many people prefer sitting in a wireless environment with a lap top than being stuck in a work space with a PC. 

How much i prefer sitting outside with lap top to sitting inside with PC. A few years ago it didnt bother us as it wasnt an option but now its an option we all prefer it and we want it now!

The advantages are all for the Bedouin style working, from home, from wireless cafe, and occassionally to an ‘office’. The increase in lap top users makes this possible for people to work in a setting of their choice. I was amazed to see the new wireless area of Hyde Park on the internet a few days ago : )  So going Bedouin has become the latest buzz word and its what everyone wants.

But how many people really know what ‘Bedouin’ is all about? Maybe 5% of people acutally know something about Bedouin people. This new buzz on the word Bedouin is all well and good but surely you want to know the origins of Bedouin?

Come to the Middle East and see what remains of the Bedouin lifestyle. They were nomadic for a reason, the reason being very simple to find food and water. The lifestyle of the Bedouin people was in fact highly advanced despite some peoples opinions of the matter. They were nomads of the desert but the reason they survived in such hard conditions is because they are very intelligent people and they are highly advanced in how to use what is provided on the land to its best advantage for the people.

For example their knowledge of the desert herbs and its uses for medicinal purposes is amazing and is currently being researched by several universities. Their knowledge of the weather and prediciting when winds/rains/storms are coming will also astound you.

Three years ago i was happyily snorkeling when our Bedouin driver Awad said come on we must go. Like little kids me and friends said ‘why we want to stay’. He said ‘look we just have to go now!’. So we quickly dried, dressed and got in the jeep feeling annoyed that we had to cut our snorkeling short, still wondering why the hurry.

Within three minutes of us leaving we started to hit a sand storm, luckily we all had bedouin scarves to cover our faces and sunglasses to cover our eyes from the sand. Had we still be in the sea at that time for sure we would have had serious problems. He knew about 10 minutes before the storm came despite their being no pyhsical signs of it coming. Such is the connection of the Bedouin people to the earth and the land.

Every day i learn something new about the culture and the lifestyle of these dessert dwellers and i want to share this knowledge with those who are interested. For these people can teach us much about their lives and aboput our own. How distant many of us have become from the earth and the land. When we are enclosed by buildings we feel unhappy within but we dont know why. When you get outside you feel relief phew, like a weight lifted off your shoulders. Such is out connection to the earth being ingnored or being weakened by being inside.

But our problem is we need to work to live and working usually means being inside a work place which generally doesnt feel natural. So we are lucky that technology can now set some of us free, or at least give us a feeling of freedom with the lap top ‘bedouin’ style working. It is a taste of what will come and maybe in a few years time we will think back to the days of offices and say phew thank goodness for Bedouin working, glad that is over : )

I am one of the lucky ones, i went from working in an office in London with no windows to a wireless space with a view of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea and the mountains of Sinai,

Lovely view

 sitting in an arisha made from wood and palm leaves open to the breeze on all sides. It is becoming known in Dahab as the Lazy Camel Cafe and hopefully in a few years time many more people will have the option to ‘go bedouin’.

The Lazy Camel Cafe is at Sheikh Salem House in Assalah Dahab, next to the Eel Garden Dive Site : ) Ready for anyone who wants to work outside for a few hours or a few weeks!

Salha – The forgotten Bedouin Artist

Bedouin Woman

Living in the Bedouin Village of Assalah lives Salha Subaiel, a 22 year old Bedouin woman who is deaf, along with her husband Gomer and her 1 year old Daughter.

Salha is famous in Sinai, she was the first ever Bedouin female Artist to have her work produced commercially when she was only 15 years old. She makes beautiful drawings and paintings of Sinai landscapes, tradditional bedouin life drawings and some folklore pictures.

Salha was born in the Nabq national park in Sinai, she is from the Muziena Tribe of South Sinai and her drawings were used by the National Park for making promotional postcards and posters. Her popularity grew, but many of her drawings were sold very cheaply without protecting her artisitic rights. (Except for the Nabq and Sharmer Artist projects).

She married Gomer 3 years ago and for a while she stopped drawing, she was unable to obtain the materials for making good pictures. During this time people started to forget about Salha, the local talent and everyone left her alone.

Bedouin Camel

At the begging of 2008 Salha’s husband Gomer started to work with us at Sheikh Salem House.

http://www.sheikhsalemhouse.com

At this time we were unaware who his wife was. One day he brought us in a drawing of the Coral Reef, with fish and sharks and my jaw hit the floor. ‘Wow’ i said to him what a beautiful picture (Gamila Awee!) It was from then he told us the story of Salha.

I already knew of Salha, i had bought her postcards from Nabq and i had tried in 2007 to find her without much luck. I was so happy to have found her and i wanted to help her sell her pictures and i knew she needed someone to assist her in copy righting her work.

So here i am today, we are on the road to getting Salha’s work legalised for her and getting her work promoted around the world. Her new work is fantastic but we cant publish it yet but keep watching this space…..

In the meantime if anyone wants more information about Salha please contact me. I am also looking for any NGO’s or Charities that offer support to deaf people to help her. She has a 1 year old daughter to bring up any she would welcome any assistance. She communicates by tradditional sign language.

Salha can produce custom pictures to order, as well as her lovely Sinai and Bedouin images. These are great for anyone looking for Bedouin Folk Art.

So this famous Bedouin woman in Sinai is still here and our job is to make sure she is never forgotten again : )

Turning on the lap top : )

Hi again,

Its been a few weeks since i have managed to write anything on this blog. I suppose im not a serial blogger as yet, just a newbie having a go at this blogging lark.

Well today i am going to focus this blog in the new surge of interest in the Bedouin community here for learning computers and english.

It all started last year when myself and a few other like minded people decided it would be a good idea to make a community centre that offered adult and youth education services (something that is very missing in Dahab and Sinai).  After months of planning and preparation the project was almost ready to start but there was a problem! A man that i was in a relationship with at the time seemed to be jealous that i was spending much effort on this project and not on him, He accussed me of ‘chatting up’ the Bedouin Project Assistant who is young enough to be my son. The arguments and difficulties it caused meant we lost the backers for the funding of the project and it all went Pete Tong so to speak.

I was so upset by this result as i had spent months working on the project and i knew how much it is needed. We had over 400 names of people wanting the training and of those 215 were Bedouin women. This was an important project for the community here and it all went wrong because of one stupid and jealous man. (He was not Bedouin, he was Egyptian and it seemed he didnt like the Bedouin people very much despite being welcomed into their community!).

Anyway since this happened i tried to forget about the project, i didnt have the time or any money to start it……until…….

About two weeks ago i started talking to someone who has wanted to start the same project here in Dahab. I told them about my experiences and to their delight the 400 names i had collected were the evidence they needed to apply for funding. But this funding still hasnt come to fruition but since i meet this person i seem to be drawing in the like minded spirits and i know have offers from 4 more people who want to help make the project. Wow i say, it looks like we start the project again with a new determination.

I was thinking about what we need initially, it seems all we need to start is 5 lap tops, a projector and some voluteer teachers. Total 4000 uk pounds would do it. This isnt much money but when you have little income it is. So we start again with the trying to raise some money : )

The Bedouin community are well aware of the need for a good education, the main problem here in South Sinai is the lack of colleges and no university. The lucky ones who can afford it send their children to Uni in Cairo or Alexandria, but this is the minority less than 5% of Bedouin adults and youths have the chance to obtain higher eduction.

Our project wants to give those who want to learn more the chance to do so in their home town. We want to offer a mobile teaching service where voluteers wil do the teaching in various locations depending on the needs of those that want to learn.

The Bedouin community are well aware of the power of the computer, and the growing need to be able to use it for business and leisure. I have decided i will be the first voluteer teacher for Computer training so now we try and get some lap tops for the project to start.

The lap top is a far cry from tending camels, fishing and feeding goats but this lifestyle has been superseeded by the need for electricity, water and health services. The main priorities when you ask any Bedouin what would help them most is Education and Health Care.  Now the way i see it is provide the education services that will enable Bedouin People to go to University and we may be able to train Bedouin doctors to provide the healthcare services.

Healthcare in Dahab is much better than it ever was, a new hospital was opened last year and more GP services are avalible in the town. But for major operations and full diagnostics services the people have to go to Cairo. Again this is beyond many peoples budgets, to see a doctor in Cairo and accomodation costs are high compared to the incomes here.

It is not a good state of affairs. The Egyptian Government have done much to improve the health services in Dahab (but as i am well aware from my NHS back ground) health services are expensive to deliver especially the costs for the Diagnostic equipment. I will do what i can to help with this here (we want to set up a fund that people can access for operations and healthcare), but i believe the focus on education is what is needed first.

So i hope that by this time next year at least 50 Bedouin people will be able to turn on the lap top and communicate on the internet and will have knowledge of how to use computers. If anyone wants to help us please see our web site and the relevant page and then use the contact us form to send us a message

http://www.sheikhsalemhouse.com/bedouins.asp

I am not trying to raise money by this blog although dontations to the project would be welcome, the aim is to raise awareness of the needs in the area.

So as for me and my turning Bedouin, well i know i am trying Bedouin when i think about the way i am now and the way i was before i came here. I love nothing more than eating food cooked from an open fire : ) I love sleeping in the desert under the stars and the moon and i love adventuring on a camel or hiking through the rugged mountains of Sinai.

I love the life, the simple natural life that these guys have managed to maintain and preserve for much longer than us european types. For simplicity is the key to the happy life.

So it makes me wonder if the Bedouin community will change once they get ‘on -line’. Will they become cyber junkies and facebook addicts, or will they use the computer simply for business or for fun in short doses. We will see as it unfolds, maybe they will be blogging with me soon as well….only time can tell in this turning world.

I came here searching for a peaceful life, i wonder if they will become the next generation of stressed out PC users or will they hang on to the simple life…..watch this space ; )

N