Moving mountains is not just a biblical image when political will is present and the community rallies around a common goal. Some 20 years after a severe drought and political turmoil caused a devastating famine that claimed more than a million victims in Ethiopia, a village has successfully tamed the desert to fight drought and soil erosion in the northern province of Tigray. Abr’ha Weatsbaha’s community leader, Aba Hawi, has made good on the ancient practice of summoning every able-bodied man and woman over 18 years of age to report for 20 days of compulsory community labor each year. Over the past decade, they have successfully terraced mountains, transforming 94 acres of former desert into fertile fields. Hopefully a powerful example for neighboring districts of what is possible when the public interest trumps.
Community labor creates an oasis in the Ethiopian desert
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