Bedouins

The majority of people living in and around Wadi Rum are of Bedouin origin. Until recently, they lived a nomadic life relying on goat herds. There are seven main tribal groups in the area. The largest tribe is the Zalabiah tribe who make up most residents of Rum Village, the only village inside the protected area. The Zalabiah tribe is responsible for most of the tourism services and tours in Rum Village through the Rum Tourism Cooperative. The Zawaideh tribe based in Disi villages also operates tourism services and tours. However, they are not fully dependent on tourism as they have access to water for agriculture. The other smaller tribes like Al-Sweilhieen, Omran, Godman, and Dbour live in different villages mainly depending on livestock but also to some extent on tourism. While most Bedouins have become villagers, they still keep goat herds for milk, meat and yogurt. For parts of the year, some families still follow a semi-nomadic life with their flocks. However, few are able to continue a fully nomadic existence today and the traditional Bedouin lifestyle is disappearing.