Pleasure to meet you, my name is Salem Abu Siam, I was born in a tent, in the area of Katef Beitarim and Mount Goral (Tawil Abu Gherol, next to Be'er Sheba).
As the eldest son to my parents, at the age of ten I set out to work as a farmer, in various places in Israel, to help provide for my family.
When I was young, I learned in Mikve Israel Agricultural youth village, and was the first Bedouin to be educated in an agricultural youth village. This fact went well with my urge to study and integrate in the social life.
When I returned to the Negev, I was the principal of Al-Azazme school in 1967. Afterwards, I became an agricultural guide for the Bedouin tribes in the Negev, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture.
In this role, I integrated my acquired professional knowledge in agriculture with an attempt to preserve the Bedouin tradition. The role was highly complex, and required my attention, and endless patience, as the common Bedouin phrase: see the wolf and feel its way. This is the way to achieve results when growing crops in a way which combines the tradition with the abilities of advanced agricultural machines.
Today, I am thrilled to invite groups of tourists from Israel and abroad, for authentic Bedouin hospitality, in my family tent in Rahat. I also guide tours that set out in the footsteps of the Bedouin tradition in the Negev. I invite you to get to know the Bedouin women, who integrate business initiatives while preserving the values of the Bedouin tradition, to shepherd the flock, to visit Darijat and admire the unique small village, which initiates a change.
Read more about me and about the city of Rahat.