Agriculture and Environment

This is an ongoing project that we can support to make it more productive. The project was initiated by Ye Gorgora Lijoch Maheber in Addis Ababa (Association of Gorgorian’s in Addis Ababa). Since the establishment of the modern education, thousands of youth from Gorgora have gone through elementary and secondary schools at Gorgora. Many of them have joined universities or other higher educational institutions in Ethiopia and abroad and have become professionals. But all have one common attitude: The love and compassion for the people and community in and around Gorgora.

It was with this background that an association was established at Addis Ababa to facilitate the community development activities. A development committee was also formed in Gorgora to implement the project in cooperation with the Kebele and Woreda Administration.

The main participants of the project were the development committee members of the Gorgora Maheber in Addis Ababa and the community members in Gorgora. The seed capital for the project was donated by Gorgorian’s living in the USA. The Gorgora Maheber in Addis Ababa also contributed towards the project.

Here are the overall objectives of the project:

•Provide assistance to needy families through income generating agricultural activities
•To provide job skill training for the unemployed youth in and around Gorgora and create job possibilities for them
•Create community awareness in development activities, which eventually help the community to be self-reliant

Based on this, the project started by conducting an initial base line socio-economic survey and acquiring the land from the Kebele.

Here are the major accomplishments:

•Provided financial support for five most needy households: The financial support given to the needy is a life saving effort and it is appreciated by the Gorgora community at large. It is an act of solidarity, it has strengthened our belongingness to the Gorgora community and at least we are paying back what we got from them.
•Started farming on acquired land: Many community members were involved in the project and benefited from it. They produced Teff, Bekolo, and Nug. The products were sold to the community members with very low price. The project created awareness and developed the spirit of working together for a common good. In addition to this, many community members were able to get hired on the project thereby getting an income for their family.
•Established kindergarten: a kindergarten has been established at the premises of the Kebele. One teacher has been hired and about 60 children have been enrolled. This has allowed the mothers to get out and work and earn some money while their children are in the kindergarten.

It is also possible to incorporate agricultural activities with environment protection by supporting the planting of trees around Gorgora. People in Gorgora use fuel wood as their principal source of energy. Not long time ago, Gorgora used to be covered with a huge forest. It used to be a walking distance to get natural fruits such as Enkuay or Abeteri. Now, the situation is entirely different. Trees have been continuously cut for different reasons (fuel wood, construction, farming, etc) without being replaced. Gorgora and its surroundings have turned into almost a desert. The objective here is to create an ecologically sustainable and economically viable community.

Understanding the seriousness of the situation, our association plans to establish a nursery center at Gorgora. The objective of the nursery is to produce seedlings which could be distributed to the community for free. It helps to provide sustainable supplies of wood for fuel, construction and environmental protection.

In conclusion, we believe that if we modernize the farming practice by diversifying the products (crops, vegetables, fruits, etc) using irrigation, there is no doubt that the project will be more effective in achieving its objectives ( providing assistance to the needy families, providing employment opportunity for the community members, and in the long run help the community to be self-reliant).

Even if a final decision hasn’t been made on how to proceed with this project but it could be considered as a shovel ready project. Discussions are underway with members, Gorgora Maheber in Addis Ababa, and the local community.