Many young people in Libya find job opportunities during the “jalamah” season, or shearing of sheep’s wool, which begins in mid-April and continues until the end of May of each year in most of the pastoral areas in Libya.
Abdul Latif Zahima and his eight companions, who hail from the Tiji region (west), began working in the current year’s season, and moved between many pastoral areas, where sheep owners seek the help of Libyan labor to know them in the galamah method. He told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he and his colleagues have been working in this profession for three years.
The majority of those who practice this profession belong to pastoral areas, and learn it from their families. Zahima explains, “Professional grazing and sheep breeding is no longer available to many families, as it requires large sums of money to secure profit. Raising a small number of sheep does not generate income, Young people are looking for job opportunities in other commercial fields or the government sector, but jalama professionals benefit from this season to earn good amounts of money annually, as it constitutes additional income, not basic. in pastoral areas for several weeks.”
There are many annual seasons in which Libyan youth find job opportunities. In the fall, the season of harvesting dates and truffles begins, followed by the season of harvesting olives, before the harvest season begins at the end of spring, followed by the season of harvesting crops of barley and wheat. Mustafa Jaddour, a sheep breeder in the Al-Asaba region (west), says, “The demand for the profession of sheep breeding and grazing has declined significantly over the past years, and the reason is that grazing needs a safe environment. With the spread of crime and thefts, people are afraid of owning large numbers of sheep.” Of the sheep that need pastures, they are usually far from cities and villages.” He added, “There is another reason related to the merchants’ willingness to import sheep from abroad because they are less expensive, and it is another factor that makes sheep breeders refrain from this profession. In addition, the prices of livestock feed have become a burden.” extra”.
In reference to the decline in interest in the profession of sheep breeding, he points to the closure of the wool-spinning factory in Al-Marj, in the east of the country, and problems in the work of the woolen textile factory in Bani Walid, in the west of the country, in light of the lack of the necessary quantities of local wool for these factories.
Jadour warns that the merchants’ openness to foreign markets has made them import modern machines that do not require effort or time, pointing out that “modern technologies have their drawbacks, and grazing is not just a profession, but is accompanied by traditions and inherited values that will become extinct through these mechanisms and the transfer of wool-shearing operations to large factories.” .
Jadour talks about the Jalama season that promoted the values of cooperation between regions and within society. “Sheep owners usually move in groups between regions to help with the culling process. Each time they are hosted by a breeder, and it continues until the end of the season.” He continues, “This season has special traditions, songs and chants. In the east of the country, poetry competitions are organized on the sidelines. Therefore, transferring the gelama process to laboratories and adopting modern machines will lead to the loss of all this with the passage of time.”
Despite the many hobbies that Sufian Al-Saiti loves, most of which are related to tourism in the desert, he finds during the Jalama season an opportunity to relax with the youth of his region in Al-Tamimi (east of the country). He seeks to make these hobbies a source of income for him, telling Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “Jalama provides income in light of the recession and lack of job opportunities. The grazing areas in the east of the country are many and vast, and the demand for professional breeding of livestock and sheep is still active.” Despite this, moving from one area to another for Al-Saati with his friends is an opportunity to relax and unwind away from the hustle and bustle of cities.
It is noteworthy that one of the traditions of this season is that the owner of the pasture gives birth to a sheep called Karama, to honor those who come to his pasture and help him shear its wool, and the family, neighbors and friends participate in the initial party.
The number of sheep in Libya is estimated at about 6 million heads, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in 2010, but it is believed that they have decreased to half their previous size due to cross-border smuggling operations to neighboring countries since late 2012.
