Living off the land in Ethiopia: Aberra & Sifrash
Aberra Chane from Kunchamedeb village in the northern Ethiopian highlands, once battled to provide enough food for his family, and often had to rely on government food aid. Today, thanks to Oxfam, he tends a field of tall, healthy barley. His family has plenty to eat and he and his wife are optimistic about the future.
Today, thanks to Oxfam, he tends a field of tall, healthy barley. His family has plenty to eat and he and his wife are optimistic about the future.The rain that falls in the highlands is unpredictable. “During dry times, the land has cracks up to a meter deep," explains Aberra. "During the rain, it looks like an ocean. The oxen can't move, the plough is muddy and heavy, and the water is up to our shins.”Oxfam supported training in simple water-management techniques, so that the excess water from the fields now drains along stone channels into a community pond.Aberra's wife, Sifrash Gebe, was chosen to lead the community in this project. “I took the training on how to construct the banks, ponds and waterways. I was the foreperson for construction work, organizing workers, supporting them, and checking the quality of the work.”Now the crops are not waterlogged and the pond provides water all year round. “I'm proud of the water we're now collecting and as it's nearby we can fetch the water in just a few minutes," says Sifrash. "Everyone respects me for what I have achieved and because of my training and knowledge. People ask me to visit them to give them advice. I am now the leader of the women's association too."The community is also using the new variety of seed which grows quicker, is more resistant to disease and gives a higher yield. It also has longer stalks which provide more straw for the livestock.“Previously the grain I got was not enough to feed my family for the whole year, but now it will be enough for two years and I can sell some to buy more livestock.” The new techniques have transformed life for the family. They can now produce twice as much from the same plot of land.Aberra says: “I hope I will be able to provide everything we need and will not have to ask the government for food aid.”
