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Ethiopia, a Nation of Farmers, Strains Under Severe Drought
Posted by New York Times: JACEY FORTIN on October 18th, 2015
New York Times: Every day, Yasin Mohammed Aliye stakes out a spot on his small farm to chew khat leaves, a stimulant, and guard against intruders. The khat, he explains, helps to dull the hunger. “We got just one day of rain each month during the rainy season,” Mr. Yasin said, referring to the days from July through September. “It should have been raining every other day. Now my harvest has failed.” The green hills and full fields around here belie an alarming fact: This is the worst drought Ethiopia has experienced...
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Dam rising in Ethiopia stirs hope and tension
Posted by New York Times: JACEY FORTIN on October 12th, 2014
New York Times: There is a remote stretch of land in Ethiopia’s forested northwest where the dust never settles. All week, day and night, thousands of workers pulverize rocks and lay concrete along a major tributary of the Nile River. It is the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the continent’s biggest hydropower plant and one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever in Africa.
Ethiopia is a poor country, often known best for its past famines, but officials say the dam will be paid for without...