Historically, they journeyed continuously through the desert in search of food and water for their herds. Tents were made to be quickly erected in one location and then just as rapidly dismantled and transported to a new site. Camps are usually made up of extended families or tribes united under one leader. Each member has a role, and the camp functions as a self-contained unit. Today, however, many Bedouins have become settled in rural villages where they tend small farms and raise their livestock.
Women occupy a very important position in Bedouin society.
Not only do they raise the children, herd the sheep, milk the animals, cook, spin yarn and make the clothes, but they are accorded the honor of weaving the cloth that constitutes the tent. While the younger female members of the tribe are off watching over the animals, the older women spin the coarse, dark hair of the goat into fabric for tents on ground looms made from two strong pieces of wood staked into the dirt. Indigenous goats are usually black or brown, hence the color of the undyed wool. When making clothes, however, some women use plants to dye the cloth for variety. Leaves, roots, stalks and petals are used to create these dyes.