https://infonile.org/en/2021/09/washing-away-the-blue-gold-of-ethiopia/
Washing Away The ‘Blue Gold’ of Ethiopia (PHOTO STORY)
September 27, 2021
By : Mekonnen Teshome Tollera
In Ethiopia, soil is everything. Living in an agrarian society, Ethiopians have a great deal of indigenous knowledge on issues of soil. Farmers in Ethiopia give the greatest attachment to their cattle and soil. They talk to their cattle like they listen to each other, and they give them names of love and attachment, especially for their ploughing oxen. They communicate with the soil on their farmland, calling it “the source of all livelihoods” – and the “last” home of everyone, as they know that everybody will be turned to soil when he/she dies. Soil is the source of life, and the circle of life. Soil is everything.
And in central Ethiopia’s Jamma River region, soil is under threat.
My name is Mekonnen Teshome. As a senior Ethiopian Science Journalist, I usually contemplate, research and write on major development issues, but the photojournalism fellowship I received from InfoNile in 2021 has helped me to take my theoretical knowledge on photojournalism to a more practical level.
It has paved a way for me to explore the severe soil degradation, soil erosion and deforestation around Jamma River in central Ethiopia, which is the biggest tributary of the Blue Nile.
I made a journey to the River Jamma (about 200 km north of Addis Ababa) and captured landscapes of soil erosion, landslides, deforestation, charcoal business as well as conservation and terracing efforts in the area.
It was really touching and surprising to be an eyewitness to the desolate, arid zones around Jamma river, where people are highly worried about the ever-degrading environment and the poor fertility of the soil. Still, they are hopeful that their natural fertile soils will regenerate with their rehabilitation and tree planting efforts.
