Qara Jam village keeps buffalo herding tradition alive on the banks of the Little Zab

KIRKUK — Along the banks of the Little Zab River near Dibis in Kirkuk Governorate, the village of Qara Jam. Locals say the village, about five kilometers west of Dibis center, has raised buffalo since the 1970s, producing rich milk, yogurt, and clotted cream that supply markets in Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region.

“Since the 1970s our families have been raising buffalo, and after the 1980s the numbers increased,” breeder Rekan Abd told 964media. “The animals graze along the Little Zab River from morning until afternoon before returning to the barns for feeding.”

Abd said production has declined over time as costs rise. “In the past, we used to produce a lot of milk because flour and other feed were cheap and water was plentiful,” he said. “But after the 1990s things changed, and grazing areas became limited. A bag of flour now costs 35,000 dinars (about $25), feed is 15,000 dinars (about $10.60), and even straw prices have gone up — all of this affects the price of buffalo milk products.”

Another breeder, Atiya Jumaa, said buffalo herding remains a family tradition passed down through generations. “We are buffalo herders by heritage here on the Little Zab shore,” Jumaa said. “The buffalo roam until the afternoon, then return to the barn where we milk them. We strain the milk at home and store it in refrigerators.”

He described the traditional dairy-making process still used in Qara Jam. “The next morning, we pour the milk into one-kilogram containers and cover them so they turn into yogurt. Then we refrigerate it again and the following day sell it to Saleh Jumaa’s market in Dibis,” he said. “We also have a buyer from Erbil who purchases milk, and some of the milk we use to make cream and ‘lor,’ a type of soft cheese.”

Ahmed Fares, a customer at Saleh Jumaa’s market, said Qara Jam’s dairy is widely known for its quality. “We come every day to buy cheese and dairy products from Saleh Jumaa’s store, which gets its supplies from Qara Jam,” he told 964media. “Their products are popular in Dibis and reach Kirkuk and Erbil. The village is famous for buffalo breeding and the quality of its dairy.”