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Update -
1st November 2005
FUN FROM THE FIELD 13:
Hi All,
Well, where to start? So much has happened it is
difficult to know
where to
begin. We left Mekelle (which like Addis has an enormous
amount of
building
going on) a little later than expected and went down
through the haze
into
the
valley in which Mekelle lies. Starting up the other side
we
approached our
first of many winding ascents (and descents) up the escarpment
onto the
plateau. While still green in patches from the good wide-spread
rains
it was
still clear that this was a dry country. We were all
looking forward to
getting
out into the ‘field’ and travelling around
the region.
Our broad itinerary included travelling north to Wukro,
through the
eastern
zone
onto Adigrat and then west through the central zone to
Adua and onto
Axum with a
brief diversion to the Eritrean border! We then doubled
back to Adua
and turned
south to Abi Adi and then onto Yechillo, back up to Abi
Adi and then east
through Hagere Salem in the highlands back to Mekelle.
We quickly settled into a routine each day of checking
how we all slept -
all with varying degrees of success - what with
unpredictable access to
water, a
high level of ambient noise (it is best not to choose
a room overlooking the
main street which although provides a view of who is
going where with
the
occasional travelling musical group -the entertainment,
in one form or
another, goes on most of the night) not to mention frequent
and ‘up
close and
personal’ contact with the over eager mossies.
We generally had
breakfast
together - good strong Ethiopia coffee or chai (spiced
tea) - short and
very
sweet shots to get you going, scrambled eggs with bread
and more
coffee. This accompanied a review of logistics (which
often needed review at lunch
time
again) for the day and then departure for respective
field sites and
centres.
For me this was the amazing part - the landscapes of
valleys plummeting
down
hundreds of feet in layered escarpments with flat valley
floodplains -
many
under irrigation. Coloured patchworks of cereal crops
- barley, wheat,
tef and
a variety of legumes, flowing in their own breezes, appeared
everywhere
-
even
on seemingly impossible slopes and small pieces of level
land. But
these
highland fields are eclipsed by the ubiquitous terraces
which not only
define
many of the small private fields but also cover almost
every visible
slope.
Around 2 feet high these dry stones walls made of stone
collected from
almost
everywhere follow the contours, reduce run off and erosion
(as I told
by a
young boy who had been helping his family harvest but
followed us to
some of
the caves used during the ‘Struggle’, chatting
all the way - whats your name,
where are you from, whats your profession - his
profession was ‘student’ he
proudly told me), capturing soil and providing opportunities
for natural
regeneration. The good rains have promoted this regrowth
conflicting with
previous perceptions of denuded slopes graced only by
rocks and stones.
In
fact
much of the land receives as much rain as we do in Macclesfield
but in
a much
shorter period with a hotter clime. “Area enclosures” previously
wasteland have
been put aside for conservation and replanted with silky
oak,
eucalyptus and a
range of native species including herbs as a good source
of nectar for
the
many
beehives.
The yield for the year has been high. Many people are
spending long
days bent
over or crouching down harvesting their crops by hand,
threshing with
cattle
and donkeys going round is circles (or in some cases
passing vehicles
on the
road!), winnowing in the evening breeze and packing the
small donkeys
with
fully loaded 25kg bags of food. The work is phenomenal,
the people only
too
happy to stop and openly stare at the ‘forengies’ in
a curious but friendly
way. Though we did manage, unintentionally, to scare
off a few of the
young
est
ones who appeared to be seeing their first white face
ever.
In the evenings we shared stories and debriefed over
St George beer and
Amba
(fizzy spring water) and injera (or bread) with tibs
(small bits of
meat usually goat) and shiro (with peppers for the brave)
in side-street
food houses
to retire early for the next round of fights with the
bloodsuckers in
the coo lnight breeze.
Cheers from the Team
Barry
1 November 2005 (22 October in Ethiopian calendar).
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