Camels and are increasingly viewed as an economic asset for arid lands. The first way to tap the economic potential of any animal resource is to use the milk. Easier said than done, when mobile low‐density herds roam far from market centres. However, it is possible, and Tiviski's experience in Mauritania proves it. To sell significant quantities of dairy products the first requisite is a market, and therefore suitable packaging. If the target market is a modern city, modern packaging requires some form of microbe‐reducing processing, e.g. heat treatment. Therefore a (small) modern dairy is the main link between camel herders and the market. The link between the dairy and the market is standard; but the real challenge is the link between the milk suppliers and the dairy, i.e. the collection of camel milk from scattered herders. In Mauritania free‐ranging camels are milked by hand in the morning and the evening ; twice a day, regular and 4x4 pick‐up trucks collect dozens of milk churns along varying routes on dirt‐tracks and sandy paths and deliver them to collecting centres belonging to the dairy. Camel milk can be pasteurised following the same methods as cow milk, although products involving curdling, particularly cheese, call for special know‐how. The best plant to process camel milk is a simple, inexpensive mini‐dairy, which can break even at a low production level compared to conventional dairies. Camel milk cannot be sterilized, as it is destabilized by high temperatures. By following simple quality control procedures based on HACCP, Tiviski markets high‐quality end products and provides an income for a large number of herders, giving camels renewed glamour as cash‐earning livestock.