Bauer leitet Bewässerungskanal in Subuli

A green garden in the parched savannah

Subuli – Irrigation

Project goals

The food supply and future of nomadic families is secured. Natural resources are preserved or restored. The role of women in the traditionally male-dominated Afar society is strengthened.

Landkarte von Äthiopien mit Markierung "Subuli"

The project

The Arso River flows through the remote Subuli administrative district in the Bure Mudaytu district - one of the few rivers in the Afar region that has water all year round. Menschen für Menschen uses the water of the Arso to create new gardens and farmland for agriculture: canals with a total length of 13 kilometers will irrigate an area of 100 hectares.

In the current drought and hardship, the construction project will provide 500 nomads with work and a living in the short term. Only members of the poorest families will be employed. As unskilled workers, they will receive local daily wages and will be able to use this to buy basic foodstuffs for their families.

In the long term, the agricultural project makes those in need independent of droughts. The irrigated land ensures that 300 families will have enough to eat for many years to come. In addition, the Afar earn much-needed income by selling surplus vegetables in the markets of the nearest towns, which they can use to buy goods such as soap, batteries or school notebooks.

The project also offers 200 women training in economics and start-up capital. With this, they can start small-scale trading, run a small coffee house or fatten goats. The foundation is thus following an important insight of its founder, Karlheinz Böhm: in traditional societies, women's potential is often suppressed; poverty reduction and development also lead to strengthening the role of women.

In order to reach the families in need, Menschen für Menschen and the Ethiopian partner organization SSD work closely with the local authorities. The elders, i.e. people of authority and respect in the society of the Afar nomads, are also involved.

Project info

  • Activities:
    • Construction of irrigation canals
    • “Cash for work”: The construction work offers temporary jobs to those in need
    • Creation of garden and arable land
    • Nomads receive training in agriculture
    • Women receive start-up capital to generate their own income
  • Target group: Needy nomadic families
  • Region: Subuli County, Bure Mudaytu District, Afar Region
  • Partner: Support for Sustainable Development (SSD)
  • Duration: 2016 to 2018

The problem

The nomads of the Afar people roam the savannahs and semi-deserts with their goats, sheep, cattle and camels in search of pastures. Rain is scarce almost every year. But in 2015, there was almost no rainfall due to the global weather phenomenon El Niño. Without rain, the grass withers, the animals can no longer find food, lose weight and are unsellable. This means that the herder families also go hungry. Selling livestock is their only source of income to buy basic foodstuffs. The poorest families in Afar country only eat once a day. The health and development of young children suffers particularly as a result: in some areas, one in four children showed physical signs of malnutrition at the end of 2015.

The drier the land, the more the remaining pastures are used. This leads to overgrazing and the destruction of natural resources, thus exacerbating the problem: the traditional way of life of the Afar is no longer viable in times of growing population numbers and climate change. Without alternative sources of income and survival, the nomadic families remain in poverty and underdevelopment.

Afar-Nomade tränkt seine Ziegen

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

With the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations has formulated 17 goals for sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a roadmap for the future that enables a dignified life while preserving the natural foundations of life. With this project, we have contributed to achieving the following goals:

All Sustainable Development Goals

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