Saturday, June 23, 2007

My first stop on this trip is Ethiopia. I traveled here to conduct a workshop for our team related to early warning systems in order to better help us plan emergency relief interventions for so called “slow onset emergencies” such as droughts that can lead to food shortages. The workshop took place in northern Ethiopia in Tach Gayint, a three hour drive SE of Lake Tana.

Tach Gayint is located roughly at 3000 meters above sea level. It’s very mountainous and the temperature ranges from 50s to 70s Fahrenheit. The Amhara population of the area is hard working, cultivating potatoes and barley on steep hills on land that is tired and barely productive. FH has been in Ethiopia for over 20 years helping to increase agricultural productivity, diversify income sources and protect individual and community productive assets. As one person said during my trip, the fact that people still live here is a testament to FH’s work. The landscape is some places is peppered with reminders of past wars, such as the tank shown in this photo.

The workshop went well in spite of the fact that I sprained my ankle quite badly the first day when I misstepped in the dark into a ditch. I hobbled around on a cane for the rest of the week.

The staple food in Ethiopia is called injera. It looks likes a large pancake and it's made from slightly fermented grain (like sourdough). It's typically eaten off a common plate with sauces spread across the injera. A sign of Ethiopian hospitality is "gursha" - hand feeding your guests to encourage them to eat more in order to ensure they eat enough.

I was fortunate to be able to do a little bit of tourism at the end of the workshop to the historical city of Gondar. Located on the north end of Lake Tana it is home to the palaces of 7 Ethiopian kings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The original palace, belonging to Emporer Fasil. Is in the best shape (pictured on the right)