Experiences of Change: perspectives from the members of SOS

Experiences of Change: perspectives from the members of SOS Sahel’s value-chain development projects

Foreword These stories were collected as part of a larger research project entitled SOS Sahel Ethiopia’s approach to gender empowerment in their value-chain development projects: case studies in Borana, Bale, Sidama and Awi zones. The purpose of that study was three-fold. Firstly, to document SOS Sahel’s achievements, secondly to identify recommendations for improvement, and thirdly to share that information with you, the participants, staff, partners and donors involved in the projects themselves. Unfortunately, some of the richness of the original storytelling was lost in translation. The storytellers spoke in their native languages, either Afan-Oromo, Amharic or Sidamic, and their words were translated, then recorded in English. I have tried to stay as true to the original stories as possible and I apologize for any important ideas, comments or concerns that were unintentionally left out of this publication. I would like to thank all of those storytellers for sharing their experiences. I hope that those who read these stories will be inspired by your words. I would also like to thank the many translators and interviewers involved for their incredible patience: Girmah Ayele, Gizaw Ibissa, Zeituna Mohammed, Hafiza Kedir, Kollalach Jamal Abdul Kedir and Olana Gupta in Bale, Lula Hussein and Guyo Galicho Sara in Borana, Tisiringo, Lubaba Esmael and Abdul Khadir Jamal in Sidama, and Molla Jember and Abdullai in Awi. Without your participation this collection of stories would not exist. Miriam Stein SOS Sahel Ethiopia September, 2010

Table of Contents

Foreword

Glossary

Introduction

I Value Chain Empowerment through women-led initiatives in pastoral communities of Borana, Ethiopia – Oromia Regional State

1. The spirit of cooperation

2. Growing our incomes with gum and incense

3. Developing new skills

4. Learning to value aloe

5. Making soap with her own two hands

6. A motivated leader

II The Bale Mountain Eco-Region Sustainable Management Program – Oromia Regional State

7. Setting the example through savings & credit

8. Savings & Credit in Bale

9. Learning by doing– Honey Group

10. Planting the seeds of diversity – Honey Group

11. Working together to protect our forests and improve our livelihoods

12. Collecting quality wild coffee

III Sidama Zone: Smallholder Livelihood Improvement Project (SLIP)

13. Slowly, slowly, the egg learns to walk

14. Consistent change comes from selling eggs

15. Pepper processing in Udo Watate

16. Building pride with Hawassa Berbere

IV Ensuring Smallholder Producers in Ethiopia Achieve Sustainable and Fair Access to Pepper and Bee Product Markets – Amhara Regional State

17. Teaching the art of quality

18. Changing attitude towards the value of beekeeping

19. Getting others involved in beekeeping

20. Words from a professional beekeeper

Introduction SOS Sahel-Ethiopia is an NGO working to empower the rural poor, both smallholder farmers and pastoralists, to improve their livelihoods and effectively manage their natural resources. In Ethiopia, access to land and pasture is so scarce that expansion of agriculture or livestock rearing is not a viable option to increase income. Therefore, SOS Sahel has started to use the value-chain development approach. This involves organizing marginalized individuals into groups to improve their bargaining power, introducing appropriate technology for value-added processing and creating market links. This enables them to sell wild or agricultural products for fair prices and improve their livelihoods. However, if the rural poor are going to be empowered, this means involving men and women. The aim of this study is to examine 4 of SOS-Sahel’s value-chain development projects in order to document their achievements and identify recommendations in working towards gender equality. These case studies were collected to get a sense of how the project intervention is affecting people on a personal level. The following stories reflect the successes and challenges faced by those involved in the projects. The projects include: non-timber forest products collected and processed by pastoralist communities in Yabello district, Borana Zone, the wild coffee, forest honey and savings and credit groups in Delo Mena district, Bale Zone, both in Oromia Regional State; berbere processing and poultry production in Hawassa Zuria District, Sidama Zone, SNNPRS and beekeepers in Dangla District, Awi Zone, Amhara Regional State.

I : Value Chain Empowerment through women-led initiatives in pastoral communities of Borana, Ethiopia – Oromia Regional State The Borana zone, located in the southern reaches of Oromia region, is home to some of Ethiopia’s most vibrant pastoralist communities. The traditional Gadaa institution has carefully regulated the use of available water, rangeland and forest resources for centuries1. However, these resources are becoming increasingly scarce due to the interlinked factors of recurrent drought, increasing

sedentarisation, population growth and conflict2. At the same time, traditional management systems

have been eroded through ineffective government policy that promoted the privatization of prime

grazing areas, agricultural expansion and urbanization.3

In order to determine how to better support pastoralist women, the Gender and Pastoralism Action

Research Project4 was conducted. From recommendations therein, SOS-Sahel, funded by Oxfam-

Canada, developed a women-centered project entitled “Value Chain Empowerment through women-led initiatives in pastoral communities of Borana, Ethiopia” (Engendering Change). The goal of this project is to empower women to become directly involved in value-chain development of non-timber forest products, thereby creating alternatives to selling charcoal and firewood. The following stories come from members of the aloe soap –making cooperative in Diida Yabello, and the gum & incense cooperative in Ade-Galchat.

1 Mamo 2007 2 Tache & Irwin, 2003 3 ibid 4 Flintan et Al, 2007.

1. The spirit of cooperation

Name: Jilo Gayo Tache Region: Oromia Zone: Borana Woreda: Yabello Kebele: Diida Yabello I am a member of the aloe soap cooperative. I go there to make soap each Saturday and I attend meetings every other Thursday. Soap-making is unique in the area and I feel very proud to have developed the skills to make my own. As a cooperative, we have developed a really good level of cooperation and understanding. Before, I didn’t know the meaning of community participation. After helping to build the collection and processing center, my eyes have been opened to the power of working as a group. At each meeting, I contribute 5ETB which goes into a fund. This money is used to help cooperative members when they are sick, get married or give birth. The number of women in the cooperative is high, and there is generally equality between men and women when it comes to decision-making, but sometimes women dominate. When we make decisions, we encourage each-other to share ideas. Since getting involved with the cooperative, I have received training in soap making, financial management and gender issues. After I got the training I passed on the knowledge to my husband. He now encourages me to participate in meetings and activities. It is not culturally appropriate for men to cook or fetch firewood or water. Although he doesn’t cook, he will tend the fire under the pot while I am at meetings. At home, I apply the gender equality training with my children, both the boys and the girls. I also share these lessons with other women when we walk to collect firewood and water. Soap-making has brought a big change to our community. Before, each Sunday we would travel very far to the market in Bake to buy soap. Now we can buy it here so on Sundays I spend my time cooking, fetching water, gathering firewood and preparing my kids for school. Our next step is to improve our marketing capacity and to create a store to sell our soap.

2. Growing our incomes with gum and incense

Name: Charfi Wario Region: Oromia Zone: Borana Woreda : Yabello Kebele: Ade Galchat I am a member of the management committee of the gum and incense cooperative. When the leader is absent, I am the acting leader and facilitate meetings. As a management committee, we manage the quality of the gum and purchase materials. We also discuss issues, send people to the forest to collect, schedule meetings, transfer important information to cooperative members, manage the cooperative according to the rules and bylaws, encourage active participation of cooperative members and resolve conflicts. We have lots of work solving problems. Before we joined the cooperative, we collected gum and incense as individuals. We didn’t know that by working together we could increase our income. After joining the cooperative, I learned to participate, make decisions and generate income as a part of a group. We want to keep going and further increase our profits. Personally, I learned how to manage money, how to identify gum trees, how to harvest sustainably and determine which types of gum are most valuable. Now, I only spend my time collecting from high-value species. Before, it was the trader that told us what to collect and how much to sell it for. Now we are aware of the value of the gums and resins we collect. I am also helping others by teaching them what I have learned. I teach at meetings and when guests come to my home I talk to them not only about the cooperative but also about issues like preventing HIV/AIDS. There are many other NGOs and active government agencies that have delivered training on family planning and HIV/AIDS. SOS has recently trained us on gum & incense as well as gender equality. Before, we didn’t try to reduce the number of children. We also gave girls for marriage at a very young age. We now know the consequences of early marriage and don’t do this. I joined the cooperative 3 years ago. Before, I depended only on livestock. During the drought it was extremely difficult because I had no alternative source of income. Now I have access to buy food, pay school fees, and purchase school supplies like pens and exercise books. One of my sons is about to graduate from secondary school. So my life has changed. I discuss every issue with my grown children and my wife. I don’t make any decisions without their input. Before I got involved in the cooperative, I discussed with them, but I had the power to make the final decision. Now the outcomes are based on negotiation. My relationship with my wife is not like before. It has improved a lot due to the fact that we now negotiate. In the cooperative, we all have the power to vote and make decisions that reflect the proportion of men and women members. The head of the management committee is a woman, so I would say that

it is equal. Women are often pregnant or breastfeeding, which makes attending frequent management committee meetings a big challenge. Therefore, all of the cooperative members voted together for the management committee and are satisfied that there is 1 woman and 6 men. One of the challenges we face is transporting our gum from the forest here to the cooperative. Many of us travel very far to the forest to collect gum and incense and come very far to the collection and processing centre. So we need additional donkeys for transportation. We also need additional training on collection and forest conservation as well as cooperative management. The more training I get the stronger I will become and the whole cooperative will benefit.

3. Developing new skills

Name: Kebele Jirmo Duba Region: Oromia Zone: Borana Woreda : Yabello Kebele: Dida Yabello I am a member of the aloe soap cooperative. We have already accomplished many things. We have built our own collection and processing centre for the cooperative. We produce soap and are starting to sell it. Together, we worked to prepare the ground for planting aloe. I am proud of being able to see the fruit of our labour – the soap we have produced. I participated in a 3-day training on aloe soap production. Now I have the knowledge and skills to produce soap. Soap is important for hygiene and as medicine. I now use the soap we make for my clothes and body. This cooperative even helps the community because the aloe has healing properties for wounds and different skin diseases. I also learned about harvesting, cultivating and conserving aloe plants. I have developed a sense of ownership over both the cooperative and our natural resources. In my presence, no one will harm the aloe plant. I teach others about how important this plant is by practically showing them the soap we produce. The women and children’s affairs office is also active in our community. I participated in digging a well. We also got training on family planning, hygiene and latrines. One of the big challenges when it comes to producing soap is the scarcity of water. Also, we were promised tools and machines for cutting and processing soap but this equipment is still at the promise stage, and we haven’t yet seen it with our eyes. When it comes to decision-making at home, I am a widow. I have a son and we make decisions together. He doesn’t make important choices without my consent and I don’t without consulting him either. We always negotiate. In the cooperative, both men and women participate in decision-making. Often it is the men who decide, but we women are present and must give our consent. If we don’t agree then the decision will not pass. Now, even at the community level, we [women] are participating. Often women from the

community are represented by people from the Women’s Affairs Office who attend meetings on our behalf and voice our interests. It is very rare that women are called to participate, but we have our representatives. In order to achieve gender equality, women should participate more. Awareness needs to be created amongst the men so that we feel confident to take a more active role in decision-making. We haven’t yet started to sell our soap, so my life hasn’t changed much. However, I have already developed the skills to make soap that I will have for a life-time.

4. Learning to value aloe

Name: Jilo Sura Region: Oromia Zone: Borana Woreda : Yabello Kebele: Diida Yabello I am a cooperative member. I participate in all activities of the cooperative from building and fencing the collection and processing centre, to making soap, to preparing the ground for aloe planting. I am most proud of seeing the soap we have produced and selling it on the market. Practically, we have been producing soap, about 180 bars of soap by 23 members each day. We have also prepared the ground to plant aloe for cultivation after training from government experts. There has been a big change, as the project has enabled me to discover the fruit of education. Before, I didn’t value being educated. However, it was people with education who in turn taught me to value the aloe plant and to make soap from its juices. The skills I have developed also include a feeling of ownership over aloe plants. Before, we tried to get rid of aloe. Now we know we have to harvest them carefully and protect this resource. I also know the value of saving that I developed from AFD, another organization in the area. Now I have a vision for the future. Before, I didn’t think of the possibilities. Now I know how to change my life economically. I dream of buying more livestock, fattening them and then selling them on the market. This change is important because although I already knew about fattening, now I have the confidence that I will be successful. I am also now sending my children to school. At home, the decisions are up to both of us. Before, it was only my husband who decided what to sell and what to spend. Due to many interventions, both domestic and community decisions are up to both women and men. These interventions have come from SOS-Sahel, but also other NGOs and the government. Most of my training has come from SOS-Sahel, but my husband and many others in the community, from kids to youth to elders have gotten training from CARE and AFD. Those who learn about gender teach others. Before, when there was a conflict between me and my husband it was impossible for me to complain at the public meetings. I wasn’t permitted to attend and had to send someone else to voice my complaint. Now, we are both able to attend the meetings and have our opinions heard.

We can participate as equals. All cooperative members have an equal right to decide. Up to this point, men and women have been equally participating in building the CPC, in meetings and in making decisions. We have started to sell soap, although we still haven’t seen any economic changes. We are trying to convince others to join the cooperative, there are some problems with increasing membership. The more people that join, the less individual members feel responsible. So they attend fewer meetings and as a result, decision-making and soap production are delayed. Also, there are some members who travel very far to come and make soap. This means we must wait a long time for them to bring the aloe they have collected which is another issue. Other obstacles are a scarcity of water and the small size of the CPC which is already too narrow. I have taught some people in my village how to make soap. Those who are most interested have even come to the CPC to watch. We have also transferred our knowledge about the medicinal properties of aloe. Once, a man came to the CPC. He told us that he wanted to buy soap for his child who had a severe skin problem, as he had heard that our aloe soap would help. He bought some soap and returned home. After 3 days he came back to tell us that the soap had helped his child. He was now telling others in the community about the healing properties of the soap. So we are helping the community. The skills to produce soap are needed in the area. One day, we hope to develop the CPC into a factory. Our priority is to increase membership and expand the business.

5. Making soap with her own two hands

Name: Fayo Qaanaa Guyyo Region: Oromia Zone: Yabello Woreda: Yabello PA: Didaa Yabello I am a cooperative member and participate in all activities. These include building the Collection and Processing center, CPC, fencing the area, digging the trench to plant aloe and making soap. Before getting involved with this cooperative, my life was not that bad. I earned money as a hair stylist, braiding women’s hair in the traditional way. I didn’t have to sell firewood or charcoal. With the income I gained, I supported my children to open their own shop. I want to thank SOS Sahel for teaching us the skills of soap-making. I am very proud of being able to use the soap that I have made with my own hands. This has improved my family’s hygiene. I would make the soap by myself, except that I don’t have the caustic soda. This is important for me because now I can help my family with something that I produced myself. However, I haven’t yet earned any profits. The high-quality soap we produce makes us happy because the aloe helps to heal skin, especially

wounds. SOS taught us about the importance of aloe. Before, we tried to get rid of aloe plants because dangerous animals like snakes used them as shelter. Now we know that this plant is useful, and we are trying to protect it. I have gained the skills to support other cooperative members. We make a contribution at each meeting. This money goes into a fund that we use to support those who are sick or have recently given birth. We started a savings and credit group ourselves, where we contribute 10ETB every 2 weeks. We are a group of 50, with only 5 men. We now have 8,075 ETB and we haven’t yet decided how to spend it. We will have another round of training this week from the government. In our cooperative, Men and women participate equally in all activities and contribute to decision-making. When it comes to the community, everybody participates equally in community issues. However, there are some rumors from men who say that women are equal during the day, but not at night. In my home, it is me who makes the decisions, as I am the head of the house hold. Our biggest challenge is the scarcity of water in the area, and this is a key ingredient in the soap-making process. Also, we need some support when it comes to management. We have decided not to focus on increasing our membership, because many of the original members have left. As our numbers increase, the sense of individual responsibility decreases. People come to meetings less often so they don’t know what we are planning and for when. Also, the CPC is small and can’t accommodate more people. For me, the long-term benefits are that I now have the skills to make soap anywhere by myself.

6. A motivated leader

Name: Shini Boru Region: Oromia Zone: Borana Woreda: Yabello Kebele; Didaa Yabello I am a cooperative member, and I am also on the management committee. It is only very recently that the cooperative started to produce soap. As part of the management committee my role is to manage the cooperative members, keep them interested in the cooperative, facilitate meetings and act as the link between SOS-Sahel and the cooperative. We also monitor the cooperative’s activities. So far, our cooperative has built the Collection and Processing Center, made the fence, dug trenches to plant aloe and, of course, started soap production. I am very proud of our soap. Before, we didn’t know that soap could be made by humans. We thought it was a completely mechanized process controlled by

computers in big factories. Finally, when we saw that we were able to make it ourselves, we were extremely proud. It is also surprising that we can make soap from aloe. Before we considered it to be the most useless plant and tried to get rid of it. Now we are at the level of hope, we hope for the future financial success from selling our soap. We haven’t obtained any financial benefits, so my life is about the same. However, I had the opportunity to participate in experience-sharing. We went to Yabello, Bahir Dar and Tigray to learn about soap production. I saw people working very hard, day and night, something I wasn’t used to. Now, after witnessing this, I no longer sit idle. I have become motivated to work hard. Along with the others who attended training, I am teaching the cooperative members to make soap and now they are as good as I am. I have also tried to inform others in the community about the benefits of joining the cooperative. No one can survive without work, and this experience taught me the true value of hard work. Therefore, it is this culture of hard work that will change my life. I am even encouraging others to work hard. This is a new mindset for our community. SOS-Sahel also taught me about gender equality. In Borana, we have a cultural tradition of discussing with family members before spending money or selling livestock. However, this culture was not fully practiced. As we have learned from different government and NGO interventions, the voice of women should also be included in decision-making. I was particularly inspired to increase the level of discussion in my home after the experience-sharing visits. Before, when my wife and I disagreed, I had the final decision. But now I listen to her point of view. If we disagree, we try to negotiate. We both list our arguments then we will postpone making the decision until we reach an agreement. Actually, it has changed our relationship. The culture of discussion has increased our ability to communicate on many issues. It has even improved the concern and respect that we have for each-other. When it comes to gender equality in the cooperative, the leader is a woman. Men and women participate equally in decision-making. There are always some people who keep quiet. As leaders we know this is significant. So we inquire to see if they are quiet because they agree, disagree or don’t understand. We consult them and try to determine the optimal solution for everyone. As part of the management committee, I have developed leadership skills. Being in a leadership role is very demanding, as it requires patience and tolerance. You have to be able to deal with people from different house-holds with different characteristics, some are patient, some are outspoken and others don’t want to obey the cooperative’s rules. At home, I am using my leadership skills. I have become more patient. Also, in the community I now get less angry when I am frustrated by others. I am able to stay calm, be patient and resolve conflicts. Of course, there are some challenges. There is a lack of clean water which we need to produce soap. The water from the pond is too dirty so we don’t know how we will produce soap when the tanks are dry. We also want support from SOS Sahel for building toilets. We can dig the hole, but we need some money to build the shelter. We were also told that aloe can be used for lotions as well as medicines. We would like training to diversify our production and improve our marketing capacity. The long-term benefits are the soap-making skills and experience I gained from other places. In

Tigray I saw a woman who makes her own soap. She makes 32,000 ETB a year from her soap. We now value aloe like we value our livestock. We need more training to be able to show others to conserve this incredible plant.

II The Bale Mountain Eco-Region Sustainable Management Program – Oromia Regional State Recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the Bale Mountains Eco-Region is home to the largest area of Afroalpine habitat in Africa, the second largest stand of moist tropical forest in the country and water resources that sustain over 12 million Ethiopians in adjacent lowland areas. However, the lack of an effective management system had led to uncontrolled deforestation, over-grazing and agricultural expansion. Ironically, these natural resources were over-exploited by those who depend upon them for their survival. Therefore, the Bale Eco-region Sustainable Management Program (BERSMP) arose from the need to both protect this eco-region as well as create alternative livelihoods for local communities. The BERSMP project is a partnership between government, local communities, NGOs and donor agencies. Although there are many actors, the lead facilitators are government agencies supported by FARM-Africa and SOS-Sahel Ethiopia with funding from the embassies of the Netherlands, Norway and Ireland. Through participatory planning, negotiation and implementation, Bale residents have reclaimed not only the right to access their precious resources like timber and water but also the responsibility to protect them for future generations. These stories come from Delo Mena, a woreda situated in the moist tropical ecosystems of the Harrena Forest. In this tropical area, farmers involved in the project are collecting wild coffee, producing honey and entering into savings and credit schemes.

7. Setting the example through savings & credit

Name: Gadissee Taadassa Region: Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Dolo Mena Kebele: Cirrii I am very involved in my community as the leader of the savings and credit cooperative society, the cashier of the forestry cooperative society and one of the representatives of the district Women & Children’s Affairs Office in my Peasant Association (PA). My life has changed a lot since becoming involved in the cooperatives. Through the cooperatives I got sustained training and education. Before, I had very little money. From the Savings and Credit cooperative, I got 1000 ETB on credit that has contributed to changing my life. I used this loan to purchase a cow and 1000 eucalyptus seedlings. I have also been able to purchase an energy-saving stove, thanks to a 30% subsidy from SOS

Sahel/Farm Africa. I am now able to send 500 ETB/ month to my son who is in college. This has enabled me to improve my and the life of my whole family. There are no men participating in the savings and credit cooperative. The intention is to demonstrate what women are capable of doing without assistance from men. We want to strengthen the efforts that we have now. In the future, the members should continue to perform their duties and responsibilities and perhaps increase the participation of men. In the future, we expect more training on forest protection. We would also like more seed money to expand the capability of our saving and credit cooperative as well as continued training and education.

8. Savings & Credit in Bale

Name: Anynaalam Gaazahayii Region: Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Delo Mena Kebele: Cirri I am an active participant of the Savings and Credit cooperative society, and also a member of the Control Committee. Before I got involved in this project, I was raising 2 children with no support. I was employed baking injera in someone else’s house. I became a beneficiary of this project because of the children and women’s affairs office. Once I joined the cooperative, I was able get an interest-free loan. This 1000 ETB credit had significantly changed my life. It is now easier for me to send my children to school. I have also learned about the role of the Women and Children’s Affairs Office, the benefits of cooperatives as well as been able to buy a subsidized fuel-efficient stove. There are no men participating in the savings and credit cooperative. We organized to change the lives of women that live in our PA. In the future, we may include men. We would also like additional seed money to be able to expand our activities.

9. Learning by doing– Honey Group

Name: Nuria Usmael Region: Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Delo Mena PA: Cirri I am now a member of the honey group. At the beginning, I was excluded from the group because

they thought I was too rich. Then, by simply observing what the members were doing, I began to make hives in my own backyard from small sticks and bamboo with no formal training. I made three transitional hives and sold them to the group at 300ETB each. Then the cooperative members realized that I was very good at hive-making, and they let me join. I have since become responsible for selling their products, and the hive-making site is in my backyard. I have taught 10 people, both members and non-members, how to make beehives. Unfortunately, after building the hives and transferring bee colonies to them, the bees have absconded. However, I am happy that I have acquired new skills in beekeeping and managing money from SOS/Farm Africa. Thanks to this training, I can trap the queen and establish new colonies and I know how to care for my bees by preparing food during the dry season and keeping the apiary site clean. I am also skilled in honey processing. I buy honey that is mixed with wax, process it, and sell it separately for a higher price. I would like to acknowledge SOS Sahel/Farm Africa for providing us with beekeeping equipment- a bee brush, water spray, cross-cut saw, veil, gloves, rope, nail driver, nails, bamboo for hive construction and 70ETB to participate in training. To continue to strengthen our cooperative, they could support us by providing additional training for beekeeping, livestock fattening and marketing our products. When it comes to gender issues, we women try to convince men that we are equal. By working hard and practically demonstrating that we are capable, just as I did before, other women will be able to participate in the group. Personally, I am keen to learn anything new that comes to my community. I am interested in planting fruit trees, coffee and vegetables. Of course, vegetable production will require irrigation from a motorized water pump. I would also like to raise chicken and cattle. I am confident that if any business opportunity comes my way it will become fruitful. With the skills and knowledge transferred from Farm/SOS I am sure that I can change my life. I hope that the organization accompanies us for a long time.

10. Planting the seeds of diversity – Honey Group

Name: Aliyi Beker Region: Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Dolo Mena Kebele: Cirrii I am a member of the participatory forest management cooperative and a beekeeper. Before I got involved in this project, I planted only chat (Catha edulis) and banana, but now I plant different species. To improve bee forage, I have planted multi-purpose trees in my home garden like coffee, mango, eucalyptus as well as pineapples. Others have learned from this and have tried to plant

their own trees. I actively transfer my beekeeping skills by demonstrating what I have done on my farm. I have taught about 20 adults, both women and men, as well as my own children. I do not discriminate, and I will teach anyone who wants to learn, whether s/he is a member or not. I have no formal education, and I feel that the knowledge I gained from SOS Sahel/Farm Africa is very significant. We did have skills before in farming, beekeeping, tending seedlings and livestock fattening. However, through training we acquired additional knowledge to further develop our skills. We were trained in honey processing, protecting bees from enemies, and high- quality wax extraction. In addition to beekeeping, we were also taught how to protect the forest, and gained knowledge about climate change. I am proud that I am able to apply these skills. In the training, we learned that beekeeping can be done by both sexes. We, the males, assist the women in bringing wood from the forest for hive-making. There are both men and women in the honey group. We expect that men and women should contribute and share benefits equally from the cooperative. We will get there if we work hard and are considerate of each other. I believe in building gender equality. “He is right. He respects his family, both males and females, and treats us equally. I clean the apiary and fetch water and he hangs the beehives on the trees because I can’t climb. I also paint the hives with cow dung.” His wife added. We are at an early phase of honey production, so it is too soon to tell what the impacts of beekeeping are for me. But I am sure that my life will change. Already, I am able to send my children to school. I hope to become rich because I have diversified my sources of income from only chat to include eucalyptus, honey, fruit trees, cereals and coffee. I expect recognition from SOS Sahel for our successful efforts in the cooperative. I also hope that others learn and join. SOS Sahel/Farm Africa has provided us with beekeeping equipment including bee brushes, smokers, bee suits, boots, gloves, cross-cut saws, nails, rope, bamboo for making hives and 500 ETB for plastic cover to protect the apiary site, the place where we keep our beehives. In the future, SOS Sahel/Farm Africa can continue to strengthen us through ongoing technical advice, supplying additional bee forage or providing grants for us to purchase bee forage.

11. Working together to protect our forests and improve our livelihoods

Name: Jamal Hasaan Region:Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Dolo Mena Kebele: Cirrii There is no hierarchy in the coffee group, and I simply a member. We work on our individual land to collect coffee and then work together to

increase the supply for the market. Before, I would harvest poor quality coffee. I was collecting the cherries, pulling the branches down and taking everything, branches leaves and fruit. This means that the following season, the plants in the coffee stands were dried out and damaged. I also mixed unripe and ripe cherries which I dried on the ground, this poor quality coffee sold for a low price, 340- 350 ETB/quintal (hundred kilogram sack). With training from government experts and SOS Sahel/FARM-Africa, we have really improved the quality of our coffee and are now getting 1000 – 1100 ETB/ quintal. We got access to tools and equipment like wire mesh to make bed for drying, sacks to hold the coffee and plastic sheets for protecting the coffee. I am combining traditional knowledge with the modern equipment to further increase the quality of my coffee. I build my drying beds in the forest, which is the traditional way, using modern mesh wire. This means I am able to put my coffee on the bed immediately. Some people build beds in the village or keep the coffee in sacks for a long time. This decreases the quality of the coffee due to the moisture in the sacks. Now the quality is so good that both traders and local community members want to drink our coffee. This has really increased my family’s income. Now I have bought an ox which means I can plow all of my land. I send my 3 children to school and use chemical fertilizer. My wife is in the saving and credit cooperative. In 2008 there was drought and starvation. We were able to survive due to the Savings and Credit. Together we have improved our livelihood. When in comes to producing coffee, we are both involved. I collect coffee while my wife watches the drying bed. After selling, we discuss how to spend the money. I believe that there should be no gender-based job discrimination: women should do the same as men. They should participate equally in the cooperative, in terms of forest development, protection, monitoring and evaluation, business planning, management, and decision-making. First, women need to become members of the forest protection cooperative. For example, of the 13 coffee group members, 3 are women while 10 are men. However, it should be proportional. Men and women should participate equally, otherwise the development we need will not be achieved. One obstacle related to coffee production is that the yield is beyond the capacity of the bed materials we have. We only have 10m of wire mesh, and it takes 10-15 to dry the beans, so some coffee is still dried on the ground and is still bad quality. Even if a merchant brought wire mesh to the market we wouldn’t buy it because it is too expensive. Youth should also become cooperative members. Right now they are a jobless, landless, devastating force, cutting trees in the forest. If their livelihood is improved they may begin to care about the forest as we have. The long-term benefit of this project is forest conservation. Previously there was destruction as we sold fuelwood and charcoal without caring for the forest. With the new ideas on PFM, we have developed a bylaw to sustainably manage the forest. The better the forest management, the more coffee and honey we can produce. This also enables us to protect wildlife and improve our local

climate and water availability.

12. Collecting quality wild coffee

Name: Abdulahi Sh Aliyyii Intalee Region: Oromia Zone: Bale Woreda: Dolo Mena Kebele: Cirrii I am an elder in the coffee group. We individually dry our coffee and take our product to the market as a group. Previously we had been collecting the coffee cherries with no intention of separating ripe from unripe, good from bad. Now, after training, we are able to distinguish which is which. I have improved my harvesting technique, collecting only ripened cherries. We also use wire mesh to build beds to dry the coffee, instead of drying it on the ground, and separate clean from unclean coffee. This has doubled the price we get for our coffee. We can now identify good quality coffee by the smell. Thanks to the project, we also have access to drying materials: wire mesh from drying beds and high-quality sacks to collect our product. However, the quantity of sacks and wire mesh is not sufficient, so we would like more. We are now able to provide good quality coffee to the market, which we were not doing before. I have improved my family’s income and the whole community has benefited from organizing to protect the forest. I now know the values and uses of the forest. It is a habitat for wildlife, a source of water, provides shelter and a grazing area for livestock during the dry season, stabilizes the micro-climate, and provides us with coffee. We are getting good rain due to the presence of the forest. The government has given us the responsibility to manage the forest, and we are protecting it now. Both men and women are equally participating in coffee collecting, but women are participating more in drying the coffee beans. They equally manage the money from coffee sales, participating in deciding how it is spent. Women are participating more in other cooperatives like saving and credit. There are women on the forest protection and development committee. At the organizational level, they have equal votes and make equal decisions. All the members come together, to discuss and reach consensus. After reaching consensus, they implement the decisions as individuals. Now there are only a few women participating in this cooperative. In the future, women should take on leadership roles. I think that increased participation will come from training from the government or NGOs for

women to empower them as well as awareness creation. Last year 100-120 farmers were trained on coffee collection and handling by the project. But all farmers need training. Although we are already transferring skills to other farmers, we need follow-up and additional training, education and workshops. Therefore, we need continuous support from SOS Sahel/Farm Africa. They have contributed to the transformation of our lives and I wish that they continue to work with us in the future.

III Sidama Zone: Smallholder Livelihood Improvement Project (SLIP) Situated amidst the rift valley lakes in the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Republic,(SNNPR) region, the SLIP project is focused on improving food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In this area, population is increasing, while land is become a scarce commodity. In recent years, increasing drought combined with deforestation and soil degradation

has led to food insecurity5. As a result, 18 of the 20 kebeles where SOS-Sahel operates receive food-

aid through the safety-net program. Alternatives to producing grain, mainly maize, are needed for this area where farmers face both a decreasing land-base and a decreasing food supply. The SLIP project intervention is based on pro-poor market development, which seeks to supply rural farmers with the knowledge and technology to improve their livelihoods through the production of high-value agricultural commodities. Their innovative approach, in partnership with International Development Enterprises (IDE) funded by Irish Aid, links research institutions to farmers and farmers to the market. The stories in this document were collected from members of the multi-purpose cooperative working on processing berbere as well as participants in a poultry project who are increasing their income by selling eggs.

13. Slowly, slowly, the egg learns to walk

Name: Lagatch Indale Region: SNNPR Zone: Awi Woreda : Hawassa Zuria Kebele : Udo Watate I am a member of the poultry group. I have learned about raising the chickens from building the chicken coop to protecting them from danger, to feeding then to collecting the eggs. I am very happy to sell eggs! Half the eggs go to the saving and credit group and half are mine to sell or eat. I saved 200 ETB from the eggs and got 200 ETB from the group savings. With this money I bought the ox that you can see outside. I like the poultry business because you constantly have a small income for small necessities. Before, I

5 Moges & Holden 2009

didn’t have any independent income for daily expenses. Now I can use the money for coffee and other daily needs. It also covers larger expenses for food items and school fees. Soon I will be able to make even more money by selling my oxen. I am a member of the poultry group. I have learned about raising the chickens from building the chicken coop to protecting them from danger, to feeding then to collecting the eggs. I am very happy to sell eggs! Half the eggs go to the saving and credit group and half are mine to sell or eat. I saved 200 ETB from the eggs and got 200 ETB from the group savings. With this money I bought the ox that you can see outside. I like the poultry business because you constantly have a small income for small necessities. Before, I didn’t have any independent income for daily expenses. Now I can use the money for coffee and other daily needs. It also covers larger expenses for food items and school fees. Soon I will be able to make even more money by selling my oxen. When it comes to the chickens I decide. If the chickens were common property, it is clear that my husband would make the decisions. It is my husband who sells the crops and controls the income. Being involved in this group has allowed me to make my own choices. Since the poultry group is run by women, we make the decisions. In the community, however, it is men who are the decision-makers. For example, in this area, the man eats first and the wife and children eat the leftovers. No one accepts us and no one listens to us. The difference between men and women is that women’s opinions are ignored. There should be training for men and women together so that they decide together and sit together. I think that if there is training that is focused on the power relations between men and women the situation could improve. This type of training is missing and is something that we would like to see. This awareness may create a common understanding, mutual listening and decisions being made together. This would benefit the whole community.

14. Consistent change comes from selling eggs

Name: Chino Betrose Region: SNNPR Zone: Sidama Woreda: Hawassa Zuria PA: Udo Watate I am a member of the poultry group. When I first got involved I received 5 chickens from SOS Sahel. Half of the eggs are saved for the group and half are mine to sell or eat. In our group we are all women so we make the decisions ourselves. The rural development and cooperative promotion office help us with the saving scheme. Together, we save our eggs. The savings are kept in a bank account managed by the executives. They are the ones who keep the records and determine how much money to keep in the bank account and how much to distribute to the members. One egg is sold for 1 Birr, and members usually sell

between 15-10 eggs a month, it depends. Of all of the things our group has accomplished so far, I am most proud of the poultry production. Before, I didn’t know how to feed, raise and breed chickens. Now we are producing eggs. This project is very, very useful and has changed my life. Before I started with the poultry group, I was involved in Oxen-fattening, skills I learned from my community. I do not have any grazing land, so I weed other farms and bring grass home to feed my ox. My whole family depends on the oxen because my husband is sick and cannot work. Although raising oxen is very profitable, you can only sell them once a year. Now I have a more consistent income because it is easy to sell eggs and I do this every day. The money from egg sales is useful for food as well as for money to pay school fees and buy materials like exercise books and pens. Now all 7 of my children are in school. In addition to the formal training I received on poultry rearing, I have also learned how to make berbere. There were 7 women who were formally trained as part of the pepper cooperative. Since I am on the waiting list to join the cooperative, I learned by observing the pepper processors. To make berbere you mix hot peppers with many different spices. After watching them carefully, I tried it myself. I found a customer in Hawassa where I sold 10kg of berbere and made a big profit. This has really helped me and I will continue during the next dry season when I can harvest pepper again. I haven’t taught others the skills I have learned because I do not want to increase the competition. In the future, our poultry group would like to start fattening heifers for milking. I heard that there are groups where 10 women work together and share a cow. When the first calf is born, it is given to others to start their own group. This is a very profitable business as you can buy a cow for 400 Birr and sell it for 700Birr. I hope that in the future, we will continue to increase our incomes, which will enable us to change our lives. Already, in a short time, I have been able to send my kids to school and take care of my sick husband. If the project continues, so will the benefits.

15. Pepper processing in Udo Watate

Name: Tseganesh Markos Region: SNNPR Zone: Sidama Woreda : Hawassa Zuria Kebele : Udo Watate I am a member and an employee of the pepper cooperative. I am one of the pepper processors. I am very satisfied with the berbere that we have produced. We transform the fresh chili peppers by drying, crushing and grinding the pepper, mixing it with 18 other spices, milling it into a powder and packaging the berbere. All of the steps are done manually until it is ready for milling. Since there is no electricity here at the collection and processing center in Udo Watate, we take the crushed pepper to be ground at the mill in

Hawassa. Due to the cost of transportation and equipment rental, we have not yet made a profit. If there was electricity here we could do all he processing and even sell our berbere to the local market. Unfortunately, I haven’t made any money from this cooperative. We processors get paid 150 ETB for a quintal (100kg) of berbere, and this is split between 6 people. Processing the pepper is an extremely long and difficult process. Also, we do not have protective equipment and the hot pepper burns our hands and eyes. When I ask for higher wages, the executives say that when the cooperative grows I will see a greater return. However, now I have the skills to process Berbere which are very useful. The process from the way we clean the equipment to how to dry the peppers and mix the spices is new for me. At home, it is my husband who makes the decisions. This has not changed due to SOS Sahel’s project intervention, as they have not mentioned anything about gender empowerment or decision-making. In our cooperative, although the processors are all women, men are the decision-makers. There are 7 executive members, and one is a woman. Her voice is swallowed-up because she is out-numbered. In the Kebele, all decision-making positions are held by men. There are 1 or 2 women, but they are the minority so what power do they have? Although I don’t think it makes a difference whether the men decide for us or we decide for ourselves. In the future, I expect that the cooperative will grow stronger. When they do they will hopefully pay us more for our hard work.

16. Building pride with Hawassa Berbere

Name: Yakob Shaimo Region: SNNPR Zone: Sidama Woreda: Hawassa Zuria Kebele: Udo Watate I am the cashier of the pepper cooperative. My responsibilities include accounting, depositing money in the bank account and making purchases. All of the receipts are in my hands. We are very proud of our cooperative. We are now processing Berbere and even have our own brand, Hawassa Berbere. At the beginning, our berbere was giving credit to Mareko. Now our name is on the label and this makes us very proud. It is being sold abroad and we were even in the newspaper! This is good for our nation and our children. SOS Sahel has connected us to OMO microfinance institution. This has enabled us to access credit and run our business. As a cooperative we have taken out 75,000 ETB in loans. This would

not have been possible as individual farmers. More than money, it is the skills in honey, vegetable and pepper production that have changed our lives. I have gotten a lot of training from SOS Sahel, given to woreda government staff and cooperative members. As one of the executive, I learned how to promote our product by participating in trade exhibitions. I gained management, accounting and bookkeeping skills as well. We learned about improved agricultural practices and are now planting pepper in our backyards. We have also gained knowledge from other cooperatives through experience sharing. In Butajera we learned about planting trees to improve forage for our bees. Now we are producing more honey. I am putting most of the training I received into practice, although I haven’t yet started sheep fattening or growing other vegetables. Developing these skills is a huge benefit for us. By practically applying this knowledge I have been able to teach these skills to others. When I am taking care of my bees or planting pepper, my neighbors see this and I teach them what I have learned, like the medicinal properties of honey. When one is making butter she will teach others. This is the way of life in our community. We observe and learn and teach each other. In my house I make the decisions about spending money, not my wives. This has not changed since I joined the cooperative. In the cooperative there are 130 members, with 15 women. So although women can vote, they are under-represented. This is part of our culture: women don’t come to meetings and participate. There has been an improvement. Before, there were no women members, but now there are some. I myself have 2 wives, but before it was common to have up to 5. Training and awareness creation will improve this. But issues like gender sensitivity and polygamy haven’t been discussed. I would recommend this. As a cooperative, we are facing some obstacles. The promotion has been very successful. We are now promoting our “Hawassa Pepper”. However, when it comes to concrete financial benefits there haven’t been any. We have been affected by fluctuations in market prices. When we made our business plan, the price for pepper was high, but it has since dropped. This is difficult for all of us and affects our capacity as a business. Another gap is linking ourselves to buyers in the market to able to sell our quality pepper for the price we deserve. There is also the issue of electricity in Udo Watate. SOS has bought us a grinding mill. However, there is no electricity here in the community, so it is just collecting dust. We do have a generator, but we are afraid that it is not powerful enough to run the mill. The power lines are only 2 KM away but the cost to get connected is extremely high – 175,000ETB. We don’t have this kind of money and neither does SOS Sahel. We have tried to negotiate with the electricity office, but so far this has been unsuccessful. So, we decided to purchase land for 12, 000 ETB in Dore Bafna, the nearest town, and are in the process of moving the mill. Moving far away is not ideal because the women who process the pepper will have to go far from their house and children to work. If we can get together enough money to bring electricity to Udo Watate, we will sell our land. There are other institutions like the

school, health post and vet post that would all benefit from the power here. The processors are here and we are here. We don’t want to move, but we have no choice. We expect that with hard work, we will make a great deal of profit in the future. But for now we are focused on promoting our pepper. When it comes to other cooperatives, the poultry and sheep have been profitable. In dry ground we now have hand-pumps to irrigate our crops close to lake Hawassa. The bees are also very beneficial. In the long-term, these cooperatives are very significant for the whole community.

IV Ensuring Smallholder Producers in Ethiopia Achieve Sustainable and Fair Access to Pepper and Bee Product Markets – Amhara Regional State Located in the Amhara region, the Ensuring Smallholder Producers in Ethiopia Achieve Sustainable and Fair Access to pepper and bee product markets project grew from a project that began in 2003 to promote beekeeping in the Amhara region. In this highland area, soil erosion is a severe problem caused by

population pressure, cultivation on steep slopes and a lack of sufficient property rights6. This joint

SOS-Sahel & International Development Enterprises (IDE) initiative, funded by Comic Relief, is based on the principle that by developing value-chains for high value agricultural products, farmers will be able to improve their livelihoods without expanding their farms. These stories come from members of the Agunta Beekeeping Development and Marketing Cooperative in Dangla woreda, Awi Zone.

17. Teaching the art of quality Name: Shashe Fekadu Region: Amhara Zone: Awi Woreda: Dangla Kebele: Simarta I am the head honey technician for the cooperative. First of all, I ensure that the honey we buy is good quality. Then I supervise during processing. I have developed the knowledge to teach others and even went to train new technicians in Borana. I am also a beekeeper myself with 2 traditional hives and 1 modern hive. I teach my neighbors about the benefits of joining the cooperative as well as modern beekeeping techniques during coffee ceremony and in daily life. The big difference is that local traders are no longer cheating us. The cooperative has completely changed that because we use the scale to weigh our honey and we now know the value of what we have produced. Before the project, we sold impure honey and wax together - 1st grade honey for 6 Birr/kg and 2nd grade honey for 4 Birr/kg. The productivity per hive was also low, about 15kg per hive. So overall honey was not a big source of income. The current price is 25 Birr/kg plus our

6 Teklu 2005

dividends from the cooperative. The productivity per hive has increased to 20-25 kg/ hive. My income has definitely changed. From the additional money, I am now fattening sheep and oxen, feeding my 2 children honey and paying their school fees. I live alone, so I make the decisions. I don’t expect a division of labour based on sex as I can do everything that men can do, even if it is heavy. Those who participate in the training believe this too, but there are some who still believe that some tasks are only for men and others for women. In the cooperative, mostly men are leaders and decision-makers. In order to make this more equal, we need to provide training for women so that they have the power to lead. There is also a need for awareness creation with men and women together. If the men also have this knowledge they will understand the importance of men staying more in the home and women taking a more active role in the community.

18. Changing attitude towards the value of beekeeping

Name: Dessie Adama Region: Amhara Zone: Awi Woreda: Dangla Kebele Girarge I am very involved in the honey cooperative as a beekeeper, a member and the Regional Zembaba Beekepers union. I lead the union as the chair of the board and advise cooperative members. The cooperative is autonomous and can manage itself very well. They enable beekeepers to increase their income by selling quality bee products, linking beekeepers to the market, providing fair prices and encouraging beekeepers to increase the quantity of honey they produce. Before I joined the cooperative, I had only traditional hives and produced poor-quality honey that I sold to private middlemen for a low price. I had no knowledge about modern beekeeping management. Through the cooperative I gained skills in beekeeping management, improved quality honey, how to use protective materials, construction of transitional hives and efficient farm-management. I also know about business and cooperative management: how to trade, handle clients, promote my product and how to improve the quality of the product. I have put these skills to use by building my own hives, producing quality honey and selling it to the cooperative for a better price. As a result, my income had improved. Formally and informally, I have taught me neighbours about beekeeping, encouraged other people to become cooperative members and even trained 26 beekeepers in my village.

At home, the extra income from honey sales has enabled us to improve the quality of food we eat and meet other household needs like sugar, coffee and soap. I am now sending my children to school, including one son who will soon graduate from university. The biggest change is that now I live in a house with a corrugated iron roof. This is important because living in a better quality house means everything for me in terms of comfort and social status. When it comes to gender, there have been some changes. At home, my wife and I make decisions together. Women are now more involved in beekeeping, although before this was taboo. They identify and catch queen bees, trap absconding colonies, clean the apiary, transfer bee colonies and assist during harvesting. Men are more involved in purchasing the honey colony as well as constructing the hives. Also, women have become members of the cooperative and are even on the executive committee. However, at the cooperative level, men make the decision. In order to work towards gender equality, we need to create awareness for women and bring women to leadership positions. There has been change from the SOS Sahel project when it comes to attitude. We produced small quantities of honey and sold it for a low price, so it was not considered important. Now the perceptions have changed. Beekeeping is now considered an important economic activity. To be able to sustain the cooperative in the future, we need intensive training. I have gained life-skills in beekeeping and business management and hope to transfer my knowledge to my community.

19. Getting others involved in beekeeping

Name: Birke Mazena Region: Amhara Zone: Awi Woreda: Dangla Kebele: Girarge I am a member of the honey cooperative and my husband is the cooperative leader. When it comes to beekeeping, the only thing that I don’t do is hang hives in trees. I am involved in everything from constructing traditional hives, to fumigating the bees to harvesting honey. One thing that I am proud of is our ability to transfer the knowledge and skills that we have gained. The executive committees are teaching hive construction from door to door in the community. I am promoting the benefits of the cooperative and have convinced 4 people to join! During the coffee ceremony, I teach my neighbors. Others even come to my home where I teach them about bee management through practical demonstrations.

One thing I learned was not to fumigate the hives with cow dung as this decreases the quality of the honey. I developed other beekeeping skills, like dry-season feeding, using modern hives and baking wax for the frames. In my household, we are shifting from traditional to transitional to modern hives to increase our production. We are also using marketing skills to determine which crops we plant. For example, we now sow more market-oriented crops like oil seed. I also took training on savings and credit and am now a member of Amhara Region National Savings and Credit association where my family saves 30ETB per month. Overall, the price of honey has increased due to the increase in quantity and quality of honey produced. Before, we produced honey and sold it to local traders for 5-6 ETB/ kg, but this has changed. From the increased income due to honey sales, we bought a dairy cow. It was through a government-led cooperative that I learned about milk processing and production. By selling milk and butter I use the money for home consumption and animal feed. I had already developed the skills of animal fattening – feeding my animals rather than open grazing – from my community. The cow is an improved breed that gives birth every year instead of once every three years. Our income is now higher and more stable throughout the year. This is a big change. My family also built a new house and are now living at similar standards to those in the city in terms of hygiene. This is due to the hand-dug wells that were constructed by our community in collaboration with the government. We built an irrigation pond and now also have been able to produce beets, carrots, cabbage and tomatoes. We are now able to educate our children with 2 in university, 1 in technical school and 2 in elementary school. Before, money was completely controlled by my husband, but now I have an influence. I can sell honey or other products myself, but most of the time we sell honey together and discuss how to spend the money. This change comes from all sides: SOS Sahel, the government and our children. For one, the honey project has taught us to share our income. Our children have influenced us to manage our house through common consensus. The government is also involved in awareness creation and supporting cooperatives. However, some of our neighbors still divide jobs by sex because they cling to traditional attitudes. Perhaps these attitudes can be broken through continued awareness creation. When it comes to the cooperative, Men are the decision-makers. In order to better share the decision-making power between men and women, more training for men is necessary. It is not that women are less capable. It is that men do not give them space to become leaders. I believe that more training needs to be given to break this ideology. The project is working well, but I think we can do better. We should diversify to other skills to stabilize annual income and to support women. I am not sure which skills exactly, but it could be dairy, or how to manage a small business like a shop. The long-term benefits of this cooperative are the knowledge and training I have received on beekeeping and savings and credit. Now I will improve my life, and one day I hope to have enough money to live in the city.

20. Words from a professional beekeeper

Region: Amhara Zone: Awi Woreda; Dangla Kebele: Girarge Name: Fantahun Tiruneh I am an active member of the honey cooperative - I supply honey, participate and vote in the general assembly, and act on the general board of the Dangla Savings & Credit Association where the Agunta Beekeeping development Marketing Cooperative is a shareholder. As a cooperative, we have accomplished many things. We create a market for beekeepers to sell their honey, enable them to engage in the beekeeping sector, improve the quality of honey, supply protective materials and enable women to participate. Before, I had no skills about bee management. My income from bee products was very little, not more than 60ETB/ year as the price was very low. I lived in a small grass hut and had a single pair of oxen. I did have other skills, as I am a college-certified stone-mason. Through the project intervention, I have developed many technical skills that include: beekeeping management, producing quality honey and separating honey from beeswax. I have also learned about business management, financial management and developing a work-plan. This has enabled me to plan my farming and budget my resources. In the community, I have created awareness about the benefits of becoming a cooperative member, and transferred technical skills like splitting bee colonies. I now have 2 modern hives and 3 transitional hives. My income from bee products increased by 2,000 Birr last year! Now, I have built a house with a corrugated iron roof and have 2 pairs of oxen. I am also able to afford better quality food and clothing as well as send my children to school. Overall, I am able to better manage my farm and I have changed my attitude towards the beekeeping sector. This is significant because attitudinal change is the basis for all forms of agricultural activity. Before, my wife had not knowledge about beekeeping. This has changed since she participated in SOS Sahel’s training. Now, she works with me on beekeeping. When it comes to bee management, both men and women split colonies, trap absconding bees and harvest honey. Men take a primary role in hive construction while women tend the apiary and clean honey containers and protective materials. At home, my wife and I make all decisions together regarding farming activities and spending. I don’t make any decisions without consulting her because I believe that our assets are common so I need her consent. However, at the community level, it is the men who take the lion’s share of the decisions.

In the cooperative, it is also men who make the decisions. We need to enable women to come into the driver’s seat through awareness creation, by empowering them economically, providing the right skills and identify the underlying problem that leads to gender-based discrimination. I think that inspection of a group or individual beekeepers at the farm-level by SOS Sahel would motivate them to increase their production. For example, I have a very nice apiary, but no one has come to visit from the NGO. Also, in order to increase our bee colonies, we need to increase bee forage. Additional support of flowering plants would be ideal. This project has changed my life. I am now a professional beekeeper and would like to invest in the beekeeping sector.