Empowering the Agricultural Population of Amhara, Ethiopia – with Mercy Hands Europe!
Yas Comez
11 May 2023
We are delighted to share with you yet another tremendous project that we have recently agreed to fund, and you might recognise the name of the partner too!
We are supporting this new project with our existing partner, Mercy Hands Europe, and a new local implementation partner, Agri Service Ethiopia. The project is designed to empower and improve the livelihoods of the population (especially women) of six food insecure districts in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. This will be achieved by promoting sustainable agriculture practices and rehabilitating degraded land over the next two years.
This project aims to directly benefit 400 people (310 women and 90 men) along with around 4,500 indirect beneficiaries in the wider community. We were really impressed by the thoughtful design of this complex project, which is informed by the decades of experience that Agri Services Ethiopia has in empowering rural communities. This aligns well with our priorities of poverty relief and sustainable development. The project combines multiple activities organised under two broad objectives and a cross-cutting focus on female participation.
The first objective is reduce poverty and financial hardship of the 400 direct beneficiaries through integrated food security interventions. The starting point will be to establish community learning forums to facilitate learning and information sharing. Smallholder farmers will be supported to diversify seeds and improve soil fertility via compost and pest control. Many participants will receive livestock and associated training. Finally, 50 participated will be trained and supported in beekeeping practices, creating a lovely link to our previous project with Mercy Hands Europe in Syria.
The second objective is to provide the participants with 80 hectares of land, rehabilitated through an integrated watershed development approach to make them resource productive. Two springs will be developed to create access to drinking water, which will be managed by the community forums. 110 fuel efficient stoves will be distributed to reduce deforestation and the burden on women. Heads of households will be trained for four days on agroecology, agroforestry practices, tree planting and management.
The EA Foundation is the leading funder for this two-year project, which will also be supported by several other organisations! We are delighted to be sharing this news with you all and very much look forward to keeping you updated as the project develops!
