Bedouin Homestay

I recently had the awesome opportunity to stay with a Bedouin family in the Negev Desert. On a Friday evening I was picked up in Jerusalem by a friend of the host and traveled down south to the small village where the host family lives.

My host father and his home.

Wanna buy a goat?

At every meal I was served huge delicious meals of traditional Palestinian dishes of rice, meat and vegetables. Perhaps you are wondering what a Bedouin home looks like today? Well wonder no more! Although the Bedouin used to be a predominantly mobile group of people, today many live in permanent homes. My host family's home was a simple but permanent home with a beautiful garden, water tanks and solar panels. They are very self-sufficient people.

My kind host took on me on a tour of the livestock market on Saturday morning. Each week the Bedouin in the region gather here to buy and sell livestock, primarily goats and sheep. It was lots of fun to see so many sheep and goats just hanging out in cars or tethered to posts in the ground.

My host also took me on a tour of his tiny village which is essentially a dozen or so homes and the mosque they built and maintain for themselves. I also got to see some of the larger, recognized villages nearby.

One of the women demonstrate how the rugs are made.

The beautiful selection of rugs, pillows and bags!

One highlight of the trip was when my host took me to a women's cooperative weaving organization called Lakiya Negev Weaving.










This small, fair trade organization is run entirely by women and is partnered with Sunbula, a fair trade organization in the area. They make beautiful rugs, pillowcases and bags by hand from real wool which they dye and treat themselves. Amazing!

Visiting the Bedouin family and learning about their lives was quite the meaningful experience! I recently wrote a newsletter to my supporters about this experience, if you would like to read my newsletter, let me know!