An Adventure In Ethiopia

Apologies for those following the blog, the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of  finishing up work, packing, souvenir hunting,  and goodbyes. Alas, our great adventure has come to an end. This morning we will leave for Addis Ababa and the next day, we fly out!
I think I speak for both Suzie and I when I say that we really can't find words to describe how Ethiopia has affected us. The hospitality, food, language; every part of their culture has been an enriching experience.  It seems hard to believe that only three months ago we both wandered the streets of Addis, terrified, trying to find a store that sold water, with only our instincts and sense of curiosity leading the way. I don't think either of us had any idea as to what was to come over the summer.
Of course, I wouldn't trade those 'terrifying' experiences for anything in the world. Every time we put ourselves out we felt apprehensive, almost always followed by a sense of pride and above all, fun. For instance, on our first shuttle ride in Jimma we had no idea where its destination was, but we took the chance and in the end we learned the route. Three months later, we knew the taxi routes all across town like the back of our hands. For me, this sense of trial-and-error learning has been one of the most rewarding parts of living here.
Finally, we'd like to give a heartfelt "thank-you" to NSAC International for giving us this life-changing opportunity, Jimma University for all of the incredibly helpful staff and students, and of course the people of Ethiopia: no matter where we traveled or how terrible our Amharic was, we were always met with unbelievably open arms and minds. Ethiopia will be dearly missed.
Thanks for reading!

Deuna seunbetu,

Manny

Dear Friends From the PHM M.Sc Class

Church, Olympics and Braids

Our days in Ethiopia are coming to an end. I think both Mannfred and I are having mixed feelings about leaving, happy to be going home and seeing family but sad to be leaving Jimma, a place that has become our home away from home. The next blog post will be about our departure from Jimma but for now I’ll stick with what Manny and I have been doing to fill our days this past week.

Manny left off describing his experience at the slaughterhouse and visit to Lake Boya. While Mannfred was tramping around a marshy wetland, I was doing something completely different. I attended a Sunday church service at the Winner’s International Protestant Church. Now, most people who know me well, know that I would not consider myself a religious person but I do respect religion and people’s beliefs and I was curious about the difference between a church service in Ethiopia versus Canada.

 First, I would like to say that Ethiopia has a number of religions which are popular, the most common being Orthodox Christian, Muslim followed by Protestant. Coming from a Western country it is very common to hear about religious conflict around the world but I can honestly say that Ethiopia appears to be very peaceful when it comes to the acceptance of each other’s beliefs. Living on a University campus you see students and staff of mixed religions working harmoniously together and best friends of different religions walking hand in hand.

I choose to accompany three friends to the Protestant Church on Sunday which proved to be much more interesting than a Canadian sermon. Upon walking in, the choir was singing and dancing on the stage at the front, dancing meaning full on jumping up and down on the stage. I also don’t think that I have seen so many smiles before with people genuinely enjoying themselves as they danced along to the choir. It turns out that it was the last week for the minister at this church so there were many tears shed during the morning. It was overall a very interesting experience to take in.

Aside from attending church, Mannfred and I have been hanging out a lot with our hallway of Belgians going out to eat dinner around town, playing football matches against the Ethiopians (soccer if you will) and even dancing the night away. Picture a massive crowd of Belgians, Ethiopians, a couple Canadians and a Kenyan all out dancing. It certainly makes for a fun night of shoulder dancing (and some stiff muscles in the morning). We have also been watching the Olympics recently with a very memorable experience watching in the student lounge as the Ethiopians won gold in the Women’s Marathon, which was spectacular to watch with such a vibrant crowd. We may have suffered some mild damage to our ears from the piercing screams.

Our final days have been filled with some last minute shopping we didn’t do until now as well as printing photos for friends and today I even got my hair braided. I’ll be entering the Netherlands with my new Habesha hair style. Manny will fill you in with our final fairwells.

Ciao.

Suze

Boys after church

Playing some football

Getting my braids

A Slaughterhouse, Clinic, and Wetlands

It's been an interesting week since coming home from Gondar. We arrived back to find some Belgians and a Kenyan student staying in our dorm, and it's been fun showing them around town and comparing our expectations, observations, and experiences of the country. A Ph.D student, Veronique, has been to Jimma many times before and has been both helpful and insightful concerning the culture and language. She is here collecting fluid and organ samples from cows, so I decided to tag along to the slaughterhouse and see how it's done. Obviously, it was a gruesome experience and I expect the word 'slaughterhouse' is description enough. Plants don't make nearly the mess when you dissect them. In the end I was glad I went; as a consumer of meat it was a valuable opportunity to appreciate that part of the process of putting food on my plate. Though the methods used to sedate and kill the animals are far from optimal, the manager seemed quite eager to learn from Veronique and was opened-minded enough to accept recommendations after her research is complete.

Last Friday I had some chest pain so Prof. Solomon rounded up a car and we made the first trip of the summer to the health clinic. Suzie came along too as it had some potential to be an adventure. Prof. Solomon seemed glad to have an excuse to avoid another administrative meeting and his good spirits were welcomed in the waiting room as he told jokes and roared his famous Harar laugh. The trip had a bit of irony since Prof. Solomon and our friends have always joked about taking us to the clinic everytime we got sick throughout the summer. Of course, until last Friday we had managed to avoid the clinic, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything. The office is run by a recent med-school graduate and it really didn't differ too much from one in Canada. However, there seemed to be some critically ill patients there so I felt a bit sheepish coming in with comparatively mild symptoms. In the end the diagnosis was nothing serious and a day of rest led to recovery. 

I ended the weekend by hiking out to Boya lake with the Belgians (~8km from Jimma). As we inevitably got lost, it became increasingly difficult to get directions because the rural people spoke more and more Oromo and less and less Amharic. In the end we found it, but what remained of the lake was a marshy-wetland system. Still, the wildlife and relative quiet compared to Jimma were a welcomed break to my ears and we got to enjoy some bread and Nutella (gotta love those prepared Belgians) under a Warka tree. Meanwhile in Jimma, Suze experienced the emotional atmosphere of a protestant minister's final sermon. Stay tuned for that story!

Ciao,

Manny

Least Gruesome Slaughterhouse Photo

  Prof. Solomon Registered me as 'Menifled Ababa'

Eva, Kewan, & Lien at Boya Wetlands

Bahir Dar.

I’ll continue the chronicles of our travels through the North of Ethiopia which started with yet another early morning departure from Gondar enroute to Bahir Dar. After a restless night of food poisoning and what seemed like an endless call from the mosque beside the hotel we began the next leg of our adventure. Manny and I were lucky enough to have Tamiru organize a vehicle from Gondar University making the trip much easier. Upon arriving in Bahir Dar Manny began some sightseeing of the palm lined boulevards of Bahir Dar while I settled in attempt of a quick recovery.

In the evening we went out to one of the many resorts on the Lake for a drink before we wandered further into town. Sitting near the lake a storm quickly blew in out of nowhere which I would have classified as a tropical storm at home with the intense wind knocking the power out. After the rain died down we moved onto a traditional music house crammed full of people. The small room is lined entirely with chairs and as more people arrived the beer crates came out as extra seating.  The source of the music was from a traditional Ethiopian instrument called a  masengo which is a one stringed instrument, some drumming in the background also accompanied by a azmari which is a singer who improvised verses about the audience. Being the only Farinjis in the room automatically made us a target for the entertaining verses but it moved on to every person in the room whether, short and bald or the business man in the corner. Dancing continued with the traditional shoulder  dancing which is much harder than it appears. The two year old in the corner was a better dancer than me but you have to give Manny and I credit for still giving it an attempt. We moved from the traditional house to a more modern bar where the music ranged from what I’d call Amharic  pop to Bob Marley and even some hardcore rap in the mix. It made for an entertaining evening and what better way to spend a Saturday night.

It proved to be a challenge getting our next bus ticket back to Addis and we ended up in Bahir Dar for a second day so we spent it resort hopping around Lake Tana with Tamiru and his friends. Bahir Dar is located right on the southern shore of Lake Tana which is the largest lake in Ethiopia and proves to be a touristy area. We enjoyed the view from five different resorts taking in the nice and day chatting away about everything and anything.

After a long week of travel we were looking forward to arriving back in our home of Jimma but after two full days of bus travel a some extremely stiff muscles.

Ciao for now.

Suze

Getting stormy on Lake Tana

Hanging with new friends

Dark room of dancing

Gondar

For the last week Suze and I have been travelling to and from Gondar. As always, we started out with a rough plan but somehow managed a full week of new people, places, and food . We started last Tuesday by heading to Addis where we stayed with two former NSAC folks, Mary and Gary. They were most kind; providing us with a place to rest, great meals, and some funny stories about their experiences in Nova Scotia.

We then headed for Gondar. For some reason I had thought the bus ride was only seven hours, but was corrected of that after arriving 13 hours later. The view on the road made up for that though. The winding road through mountains of Debre Markos were both terrifying and awesome, we were sometimes driving above low-lying cumulus clouds!

Once there, we were greeted by our friend of JUCAVM, Biru, and our soon-to-be guide for the following days, Tamiru. After a thorough rest we headed into town where you can find the castles of the Emperors of Gondar (now a UNESCO world heritage site). These castles were built in throughout the 17^th century and though partially destroyed by bombs during conflicts in the 1940’s, much of the structures remain intact. Though mostly empty of artifacts, the areas which once hosted kitchens, bedrooms, animal stalls, courtyards, a library, and even a lion's den remained. It's a precious symbol of a great power that once ruled the region.
 Also interesting was the bath of King Fasilides. This was a huge in-ground pool with a castle constructed right in the middle! The pool is still used today by Orthodox Christians who bath in it every January as part of the Timkat (baptism) celebrations.  

We ended our tour of Gondar with a trip to Gondar University where we met up with some students from the University of Calgary. Knowing the area, they took us out to the Dashen Brewery Gardens where we had some delicious (but consequently spoiled, as Suze learned) chicken, and a tower of Dashen beer, which had been brewed a stone’s throw from where we sat. How’s that for local?  

We left the next morning bright and early, and continued our adventure along with Tamiru in the Amhara capital, Bahir Dar. Suze will fill you in!

Ciao,

Manny 

Road to Gondar

Emperor Fasilides' Palace

Touristin' at Fasilides' Bath

Tassel's worth the hassle!

Well I’m back again. First I’d like to say what a great Interview Mannfred did, I think it gives a great source of first hand knowledge about the project we’re helping with, whats being done and what can still be done in the future. There are so many bright students here at JUCAVM  who have put an enormous amount of effort into moving forward with career plans. This past weekend Mannfred and I were able to share in the celebration of these students’ accomplishments by attending the graduation ceremony at Jimma University. First I’d like to say that the graduation at Jimma University is broken into two different weekends purely because of the massive graduation class. JUCAVM students were graduating on the second weekend along with the social science, business, and law students at the university. Overall there were approximately 3000 graduates that received their degrees at the ceremony. You think this is a lot but how about picturing 50 000 new university graduates across Ethiopia this year, an astonishing number and a tremendous accomplishment for the country which has gone from a few universities to 31 universities in approximately a decade. JUCAVM has their first ever Post Harvest Management class graduate this year which is an accomplishment for the PHMIL project.  

The graduation ceremony was a nice mix of new and traditional elements. The crowd of black gowns, coloured sashes and grad caps was overwhelming initially but with proud parents looking on it was easy to join in with the excitement even though Manny and I didn’t understand a single word of the ceremony. The official sign that you have graduated here is when you can move the tassel from your grad cap from the right to the left hand side. Not every student walked across the stage because that would have taken all day but each program recognized the top academic achievers as well as special awards like the top female academic overall at JUCAVM. It was an eye opener for me with the sudden realization that I’ll be graduating myself next year.

One special element of the graduation ceremony was the guest Gebisa Ejeta who received an Honorary Doctorate from Jimma University. Dr. Ejeta attended JUCAVM many years ago before he moved to the United States to continue his education. He has now become a well known professor at Purdue University in Plant Breeding & Genetics and in 2009 won the World Food Prize Laureate. Dr. Ejeta did a public lecture on campus in the following days about Improving National Development Challenges through Science, Technology and Innovation. Dr. Ejeta has put an impressive amount of work into giving back to his country that gave him his initial start. It was a very inspiring talk and gave many of the graduating students ideas of the possibilities of what they can one day accomplish.

Aside from graduation Manny and I have been going about our usual routines but with a few ailments, Manny had another small bout of food poisoning and I’ve caught a cold. The only other excitement we’ve had is that Manny had a bird poop on him yesterday and I had a bug the size of my fist crawl out of the shower drain this morning which almost gave me a heart attack. There is always something new to entertain our days. Tomorrow we’ll be off again on another adventure out of Jimma but this time to the Northern part of Ethiopia headed to Gondor and Bahar Dar. We’ll keep you posted.

Ciao.

Suze

JUCAVM's first Post Harvest Management graduating class

My improved injera as Manny mentioned previously

The lovely bug that decided to join me in the shower

Interview

Hi All, this week I decided to interview a couple of the new M.Sc students here at JUCAVM in lieu of the usual update. It's a short discussion meant to give the reader perspective on the students' motivation behind studying Post-Harvest Management, the need of such programs in Ethiopia, and their ideas on what they can do to solve agricultural problems. Enjoy!

Manny


Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. July 3, 2012.
Gerefa Sefu and Misale Kuru

Mannfred: First off, what is meant by Post Harvest Management, what does it entail?

Gerefa: Post Harvest Management is essentially the control of crop losses from the ‘farm to the fork’. Controlling any losses. 

Mf:  So what sorts of activities define Post Harvest Management? 

Misale: I think it’s a process, it’s not one activity or another. It starts at the harvest and continues until it reaches the customer or consumer. It involves, after harvest, anything like pre-cooling, cooling, packaging, processing, whatever is needed. It’s a long process, keeping the quality of food products.

Mf: Why do you think PHM has been identified as such an important issue? Why not pre-harvest management?

G: I think Post Harvest Management is ‘Pre-Pre-Harvest Management’ [laughs] because when there is no Post Harvest Management, there are no good pre-harvest contributions. If Post Harvest Management fails, everything before it does as well.  So, Post Harvest Management is the mother for all Ethiopia. 

Mf: How can PHM improve the lives of Ethiopians at both the local and national level?

Ms: You can see after farmers produce a crop, when it gets to a market it’s already deteriorated. If we can help them to handle their products correctly or practice the right types of management after harvest, they can boost their crop sales and also profits. If they contribute to the growth of their hometown economy and feed themselves and their families, then you can say the country as a whole is developing. After that, we can start to extend our market to the international level. 

Mf: What does modern Post Harvest Management research include? 

G: Modern Post Harvest Management includes extending the shelf-life of perishable commodities and products. This means modifying storage facilities and proper handling. This is the modern concept of Post Harvest Management. 

Ms: It’s a broad question, it can include a lot of different research. We can develop packaging, we can develop storage conditions…the main idea is to strengthen the shelf-life of the products. 

Mf: So does this mean a focus on laboratory or field work? Is there one that seems to be dominating in modern Post Harvest Management research? 

Ms: Both ways. We can do food fortification or food preservation in the lab, also storage research or packaging materials. At the same time people are doing their research in the fields. We collect data from both areas. 

G: Post Harvest Management is very broad. So, it’s not defined by the field or the lab. First, we find where the problems are and the location is secondary.  

 Mf: So this is about you guys. What are your PHM research interests? What will you be doing during your Master’s degree? 

G: My project will be on the mango fruit, extending its shelf life through waxing. I’ll be using essential oils extracted from cinnamon, clove, and ginger.  I’m hoping to make a contribution to society. Mangos are produced only in one season a year for the whole market. After that, they disappear. So, to improve the presence of that fruit in the market we need to extend its shelf life. We can use different mechanisms including good storage, packaging, atmospheric modification, and also through waxing. 

Mf: So does waxing prevent oxidation, pests, or something else? What is the main purpose of waxing? 

G: Waxing is very important for preventing oxygen from entering the fruit. If oxygen enters the mango, it creates favourable conditions for microorganisms, fungus, bacteria. If you prevent oxygen from entering, you can deter these things. So, the rate of production and shelf-life is increased and more mangos are available for longer durations in the market. 

Ms: My work will be with oranges. In modern times oranges are lost in Ethiopia due to diseases. I’m identifying these pathogens and why they’re attacking oranges. Part of the M.Sc program includes a plant pathology course so I’ll be working with plant pathologists studying Colletotrichum spp. and anthracnose diseases. 

Mf: When Suze and I were in Addis Ababa we noticed lots of different types of fruits. Is fruit being produced primarily in one part of the country or are they coming from all over?

Ms: They’re coming from everywhere.  If they’re produced outside of Addis or some urban area, they’re brought to the market. That means if you’re in one of these centres, you can find oranges anywhere. The problem right now is bringing the products across the country. 

G: Mangos are being produced in the West and South of Ethiopia. Asosa, Jimma and other Southern parts of Ethiopia too. They’re being brought to these urban areas, but there are losses associated with this transport.

Mf: As Ethiopians and students of agriculture, what do you identify as the most pressing issues in Post Harvest Management? 

G: I think the number one problem is connecting all the Post Harvest Management controls. So, connecting technology and knowledge. The harvesting, handling, and processing process especially is not done correctly, over 50% of losses are coming just from harvesting. In the market, storage is a real problem. Technology needs to be incorporated into the storage, handling, and harvesting systems. 

Mf: Can you think of a good example of how harvesting technology could be used to reduce that 50% loss?

G: Yeah, a simple technology is being used for mango fruit collection. There are a lot of losses because the fruits hang so high from the trees and become damaged when they fall. So, they need to be harvested without injuring the fruit and technology has improved this. The harvesting basket is simple, but effective.

Mf: How does the harvesting basket work?

G: It’s just a basket with a hook to cut the fruits from the tree. The basket is designed with materials that prevent damage to the fruits. It’s much better than landing on some hard surface like the ground. 

Mf: And Misale, what do you see as the most pressing issue in Post Harvest Management? 

Ms:  I agree with him but a new problem is the know-how. If the resources are available but the people don’t know how to use them, then there are no improvements. They need workshops to show them the best way of using what is available to them. The focus should not just be on new technology but how to use what they already have. It’s a major problem for rural farmers. 

Mf: Farming methods in Ethiopia are often passed down over generations and hold a traditional value. Do you think if university or government agencies try to teach farmers new methods, they will accept or reject them? 

Ms: I think they like modern concepts, but the problem may be that what they are being taught requires some costly equipment, or they do not know how to use such equipment. They may also not understand the importance of some machine, or think it will damage their soil for example. If we teach them before they are in the field, then there is no problem. 

Mf: So do you think Ethiopia needs these new, better technologies, or to use what they have better? What do you see as more effective? 

G: I think if technology is developed that is good, but we have become economically relevant with what we have so far. I think we need to focus on small things first: processing and handling. These things can be improved without much improvement to our existing technologies. 

Ms: What he said is right, we need to maximize the use of what we already have first. 

Mf: What do you see for the future of Ethiopian agriculture?

Ms: I can see that in the past five years we’ve developed our agriculture quickly. I’ve witnessed it. Our future is good; we will be able to export our fruits and vegetables on the international food market. Students like us, the next generation, will be able to do something better for the country. 

Mf: What will be the major agricultural products coming from Ethiopia? 

Ms: Coffee! For sure. Everyone already knows Ethiopia for its coffee.

G: In the future we’ll be exposing our products to other countries, even Canada. Mangos, coffee, bananas. I’m expecting this in the future. 

Mf: Do you have any concerns that Ethiopia will begin to export its products before it has taken care of its own people? 

G: Yes that’s an issue. It’s a matter of organization. As of now, Ethiopia is exporting raw materials and importing the processed product. We’re buying our own products that have been processed. For example, we have oilseed plants here for making our own oil, but instead we buy our oil from foreign countries. We export oilseed from Ethiopia and then buy the oil. By producing our own product we could provide for our own society and sell the extra products to the international market. So…it’s possible.

Ms: I think it’s possible. That’s one of the goals of Post Harvest Management. With some effort we should be able to feed ourselves and access international markets. Management should be so good that these things are made possible. The problem is the losses; we produce a lot, but we also lose a lot. If Post Harvest Management is improved we can do both. ⌂ 

Misale Kuru, 1st Year M.Sc in Post Harvest Management, Jimma University

Gerefa Sefu, 1st Year M.Sc in Post Harvest Management, Jimma University

 

**Also, this just in, Suze has made attempt #2 at making some Injera. Photo evidence soon to follow.