Ethiopia

In November 2010 I fulfilled a lifetime's wish and ambition to visit the country of Ethiopia in the continent of Africa It was a well-planned excursion that grew more and more exciting as I researched options and possibilities. With my interest in gardening and water I was wondering how I might bring these interests with me to interact with the country I wanted to visit.

On map Strawberry Fields Eco-lodge is just below Lake Chamo (approx)

My research brought me to a sustainable development enterprise in the south of Ethiopia. It was a permaculture initiative about alternative farming and gardening. It grew vegetables; ran an accomodation service and restaurant for travellers/visitors/tourists; taught permaculture courses; and offered a customised local treking experience over a number of days. It was also willing to take paying volunteers for a minimum of two weeks  as well as offering internships of 3 months or more for people with specific skills and expertise. It is Strawberry Fields Eco-lodge, Karat-Konso in Southern Ethiopia.

With some trepidation I  submitted an application. Having a background in food and nutrition, hands-on experience of gardening, a rusty teaching qualification and a passion for social justice and equality I was unsure if any of this would translate usefully into a totally different culture and situation. I got accepted for a two weeks paying volunteering stay with the option of a couple of days treking added to the end - perhaps, maybe!  

Water harvesting:

Water shortage is a huge issue throughout Ethiopia. It seems immoral or sinful to be wasteful of water in a country that regularly has drought-related food crisises. Strawberry Fields Ecolodge is addressing the issue head on with many examples of how water can be harvested and recycled.

Over the weeks of my volunteering visit a giant pond was being dug out at the lower level of the farm as a water conservation effort. Kitchen waste water is reused, passing through filters and irrigation pipes to water nearby vegetable beds. Hand-washing and shower water is also recycled and reused in garden irrigation.

The Rift Valley runs through Ethiopia- creating a number of beautiful lakes throughout the country. It is believed by some that with good irrigation of the surrounding area much drought within the entire country could be reduced. Having to drive cattle for miles seeking water isn’t really a sustainable way to farm.

Entrance to Strawberryfields Eco-Lodge	Eco-Lodge compound with tukuls (round thatched wattle houses)

Kitchen and garden waste is composted and then used as a soil improver.The soil is seriously mulched to preserve moisture and suppress weed growth. The project gives employment to fifteen and more local people depending on the season.

 Schools projects:

Another fine off-shoot through Strawberry Fields is an outreach work in six local schools where permaculture gardens are set up – a teacher from each school has completed a permaculture design training course. These courses are run on a regular basis at Strawberry Fields. The teacher then takes responsibility for the school garden and the pupils – a range of ages including some adults – develop and increase their knowledge on how to grow food, harvest water and garden in a sustainable way. This school outreach work receives some support from an international Aid agency.

 Permaculture Training of Trainers

 Up until now Strawberry Fields regularly runs Permaculture Training courses for people who are interested in gardening or farming in a sustainable and ecological way. A more recent development is to now offer a permaculture training of trainers programme geared towards Aid work in the Developing World. One of its outcomes is to enable participants to lead community trainings in permaculture and to also lead community sustainability training in the future.

Food growing for the long term is one important way for Ethiopia and other East African countries to help themselves.  

The people of Konso in south Ethiopia -where Strawberry Fields Eco-Lodge is located-  have been described as the toughest farmers in Africa and 80% of its industry is agriculture. To my mind this highland area of outstanding beauty, had many similarities to small, subsistance farming in Ireland in the 40’s and 50’s.

Strawberry Fields is one small new model of sustainable farming with all the usual teething problems of a new enterprise. In some ways is seems to over-reach itself sometimes due in part to a broad vision but hampered by few resources. It seeks to be a self-supporting enterprise and is the brainchild of an Irish born person who suggests that to fix the problem of food security we need to teach people how to grow their own food for the long term. And for myself there were many wonderful moments within this visit.With long sunny days from dawn to dusk much of life and living happened out of doors but treking in such heat was quickly off the agenda for me! And one of the challenges was to learn the longest, most difficult foreign words I have ever learnt so far. It was ameseghinalehu - meaning thank you in Amharic. See www.permalodge.org

    Updated Feb '12