Quenching the Thirst of Goats

Za'al Al-Kawaleet, president of Al-Karak Cooperative for Livestock Raising, Fattening and Marketing. Photo: David Snyder for Mercy Corps

Al-Karak, Jordan — Few people know the value of water better than Za'al Al-Kawaleet.

As president of a livestock cooperative in Jordan's central highlands, Za'al has seen the toll that the country's arid environment can take on the sheep and goats he and his fellow cooperative members tend.

For starters, water is scarce. Jordan has one of the world's lowest levels of water resource availability per person, according to the World Health Organization. And the region's rocky, uneven terrain makes it difficult for farmers in Al-Karak to get water to their flocks; much of it sloshes out of open barrels shoved onto the backs of trucks.

"A lot of time, water, and thus money has been wasted working this way," Za'al grumbles.

Water is central to the Al-Karak governate's financial well-being. The economic engine of Za'al's town of Ader is a state-of-the-art dairy that produces cheese and jameed — dense balls of dried yogurt made from goat's milk used in Jordan's national dish of Mansaf. It's said that Al-Karak produces the country's very best jameed. But production, of course, depends on whether herders can quench the thirst of their flocks.

Emran Mayte, one of the livestock cooperative members, adjusts the pipe on an old portable water tank near the village of Ader. Mercy Corps loans are being used to buy new tanks, cutting down on wastage due to old and rusty tanks. Photo: David Snyder for Mercy Corps

Spurred by a Mercy Corps program offering grants for water-conservation efforts, Za'al and his cooperative came up with a way to curtail the spillage that occurs during transport. With 7,000 Jordanian dinars ($10,000 U.S.) from Mercy Corps and USAID, the cooperative purchased ten portable water storage tanks that they now use to bring water to the flocks safely and easily. Farmers that received tanks are repaying the loan on a payment plan, reimbursing the cooperative 850 JD ($1,190 U.S.) over the next 16 months.

The Al-Karak cooperative — whose formal name is the Al-Karak Cooperative for Livestock Raising, Fattening and Marketing — is one of more than 70 community-based organizations (CBOs) receiving grants from Mercy Corps. Recipient CBOs agree to use the money as a revolving loan fund for water savings and efficiency projects, including household rainwater-harvesting systems and drip-irrigation setups.

Za'al and his fellow herders are already seeing positive results from their project. "Things are getting better," he says with pride. "This summer it's been easier to get water to our flocks. As a result, the health of our livestock has improved."

And so, even in times of scarcity, this age-old livelihood will continue.