On June 16 and 17, AECID’s Technical Advisor for Central and East Africa, Pablo Gan, visited the activities of the rural development agreement that we are carrying out jointly in the Somali region of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the NGO Rescate and local partners Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission (ECC-SDCO) and Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee (HAVOYOCO). Representatives of the Spanish Cooperation Office (OCE) in Ethiopia were also present at the meeting.
The first visit took place in two of the municipalities where the agreement is being developed, where they were able to see the promising progress and first results. They visited an income-generating group based on the production of vegetables and cereals, made up of 15 people and established eight months ago within the framework of the initiative. Thanks to the construction of a well, the training already received and the distribution of seeds and trees, these producers are cultivating 4 hectares that were previously rainfed. They have also started planting bananas, papayas, oranges, tomatoes, onions, peppers and moniatos.
Next, Gan and the ECO members visited a milling cooperative made up exclusively of women. They explained how they had overcome many of the problems they used to face, such as spending four hours traveling two or three days a week to mill cereals in other regions that had the necessary tools. Thanks to this cooperative, located in a place close to the municipalities where they live, they can now optimize their time and dedicate it to other productive activities to increase their income and, above all, avoid the insecurity and situations of aggression and gender-based violence to which they were exposed during those long trips.
Finally, they visited the municipality of Tikdem, where our local partner HAVOYOCO has established two cooperatives: one for animal breeding and the other for milk production. During the visit, both groups explained and shared the improvements they have experienced in their living conditions by increasing their income and having a greater availability of food. During these meetings, they were also able to present an environmental rehabilitation activity that has been implemented under the agreement and is beginning to show great results.
At the end of the visit, the technical advisor congratulated all those involved in this agreement, encouraging them to continue working in a multi-sectoral manner to empower local communities on their path towards self-sufficiency, sustainability and equality.
