Jahalin Communities Milk Pasteurization Center

Every morning, a refrigerated truck will pass between the communities and buy goat milk for transportation to the dairy center, each family according to its ability. At the center, the milk will be pasteurized and turned into goat cheese and labneh in the best of Bedouin tradition for centuries, and will be marketed to the general public. The income will go back to support the communities as a non-profit social business venture.
This month, engineers operated the machines for the first time and 150 liters of goat milk brought for the pilot turned into 130 kg of especially tasty labneh after pasteurization and professional packaging.
The initiative to open the dairy center arose due to the livelihood difficulties of the Bedouin communities in the Judean Desert. Young shepherds are frequently expelled from traditional grazing areas by nearby Jewish settlements and the herds are becoming too small to make it profitable to trade the milk. Thus, the main source of income for the communities from time immemorial has been significantly damaged and the unemployment rate is rising sharply. The social enterprise of the Dairy Center will also allow households with small herds to make a living from milk and will preserve the Bedouin tradition that is in danger of extinction.
Although the initiative, planning and fundraising are the responsibility of the Friends of Jahalin, the implementation is the responsibility of the Jahalin communities, especially thanks to the dedicated work of Mr. Eid Abu Khamis, head of the Khan al-Ahmar community, with the support and guidance of the Civic Forum Institute, led by Muhammad Diab.
We would like to thank the generous donors who have mobilized for the cause, the main ones being the Bustan Foundation, the Kennedy Lee Foundation, the Bendheim family, the Reshef family, and many others.
We will support the Dairy Center until it is financially balanced after a trial period of several months. The center is expected to be an economic incentive for the communities, create jobs, and contribute to the preservation of the traditional Bedouin cheese industry. It is now necessary to brand, advertise and market the produce, open markets in the Palestinian market, establish work procedures and contact distributors.

Any contribution from you to support the center in the first months until the budget is balanced will be welcomed and will move the community one step closer to starting commercial activity.