Camel breeders face tough time in Oman

Camel breeders in Oman face tough times and their situation has worsened in the last decade, threatening to bring the ancient heritage to an end.

It takes knowledge and a lot of expertise to maintain a herd, but the culture is dying slowly as young people are reluctant to take over from their parents. For, they prefer jobs in cities instead of rearing camels.

“We learnt how to breed camels from our parents. It is long line of heritage. It takes a lot of hard work and resilience but it is worth the effort. But our children don’t think so. They leave the villages and head to the cities. Who is going to continue the heritage?” asks Hamed Al Farsi, owner of 21 camels in Al Manah, near Nizwa.

Another breeder in the same town, Saif Al Khusaibi, says he inherited 12 camels from his father when he was 28 years and managed to expand the herd to 44 during the last 31 years. But it was never easy. He needed the help of his two sons.

“My sons will be the last members of my family in a long history of heritage to breed camels. Their children are studying in Muscat. They know very little about camels and they are not interested to continue where we left,” Al Khusaibi says with a poignant smile.

19-year-old student Fahad bin Khalid and his 22-year old brother Hamood, who is due to graduate next year, acknowledge that the culture is at a crossroads.

“We take no pride in the fact that we are responsible for severing our family’s long association with camel breeding. However, we prefer education and careers.We want to be in the city to live our dreams. We are not saying we are abandoning our village. We will always come back during the weekend and try in a limited way to save the camel farm,” says Hamood, who is studying computer science.

Camel breeders see themselves as custodians of a long and proud custom that goes back to thousands of years.

The desert cannot be complete without these animals roaming the golden dunes or feeding on thorny trees. But the tough times faced by local breeders to maintain the culture is also threatening an ancient sport of camel racing.

In Al Musannah, just one hour drive from Muscat, camel racing draws large crowd twice every year. Camel racing has also been a tradition for centuries in many towns of Oman.

Camel watching and riding are also major tourist attractions. Some Europeans insist on visiting a camel farm as part of the education to their children.

“Our children see camels only on television. They are thrilled when they see live ones. We went to a farm and see about a hundred doing all sorts of things. They are an integral part of the desert,” Kevin Wiltshire, a British tourist, said. But to save the heritage, Oman must see camel breeding as part of economic restoration.

Breeders make a living from the trade. They sell young camels in other Gulf countries to be trained as racing breed. Older camels will be butchered and the meat is sold in supermarkets. Camel skin is a much sought-after raw material in leather industry.

There is no reliable statistics on the number of camels in the Sultanate but with the evidence that young people are no longer interested to take up the practice from their parents, there is a strong suggestion the number is declining.

If camel breeders see no future, the trade will take a severe knock and the long tradition will come to a halt.