Oh Ethiopia how I love you right now. I just got home from
an extremely productive two hours. A few weeks ago I met the teacher for the
“Environment and Tourism” department at the Technical College (which if you
remember the Ethiopian school system is where you go if you fail the grade 10
exam). I ended up teaching a class about sustainable tourism and the value of
the Bale Mountains to the 18 students, who probably understood about 15% of
what I said but were very kind and enthusiastic. Anyway a few days ago I met
with Argo the teacher and he introduced me to Merhetu, a local bee keeping
expert who has a very good project idea.
Today I sat down with them and worked out the details of the
proposal which is to place 8 modern and 2 transitional bee hives in the Bale
Mountains at the site of a fancy new tourist lodge. The site is ideal for bees because it is in
the heart of the Harenna forest, lush, pristine and bursting with flowers. Once
the hives are established they will start training surrounding community
members how to work with the modern hives. This is important because the
current “traditional” hives are inefficient and in the process of harvesting
the honey the bees are killed. Also establishing a way to make money by
protecting the forest is crucial for the sustainable management of this unique
forest.
So basically I am helping them to formulate their plan then
present it to Frankfurt Zoological Society who helps to coordinate management
projects within the national park. It’s so nice to finally work with motivated
people who have an idea and want assistance with it rather than me trying to
rally up enthusiasm to do a project.
Which I am still trying to do with my “Doro Bet” project
with the Tekyelemot Monastery but in a new version. The other day I finally
managed to drag my fatigued and head cold ridden self up to the Agriculture
office to talk about my plan. One guy I have worked with in the past played the
arrogant “know it all” (a common personality type here) and proceeded to shoot
down my plan with glee. But in hindsight he addressed some of the concerns I had
been mulling over, and swallowing my pride I thanked him and left. My next stop was the Farm Africa office (a
great NGO), where Getachew confirmed my concerns but really supported the idea
to just build a chicken coop, even saying he could purchase all the materials. So
for now all systems are still a go!
Now onto the reason I started to write in the first place.
Early this morning tragedy struck- the new puppy in my compound chewed up my
Chaco, which for those who don’t know is the world’s greatest sandal that I
wear daily and have had for 8 years. But due to Ethiopians resourcefulness I
was able to take it to my favorite shoe shine boy and he sewed it up to a usable
state and didn't even charge me! So here’s a big grateful grinning salute to
all those kind, motivated, helpful Ethiopians out there- thank you! And of
course a big hug and smile to all my family and friends back home who are there
cheering me on. I truly appreciate you all.
