BACKGROUND

Ethiopian Venture (EV) is the name given to a series of projects that have been initiated and executed by Anna Barnett and James Bryce. It is presently made up of three component projects. Two of these have long-term aspirations: the first is concerned with climate reconstruction and the second with tourism strategy. The third, a survey of famine foods in northern Ethiopia, has been completed and the results have been handed to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Phase One of EV took place in March and April 2000.

  

James Bryce

Anna Barnett has been awarded a Churchill Trust Travelling Fellowship for her research into local natural resource management and survival mechanisms in times of crisis, looking specifically at 'famine' foods

Climate Reconstruction

The 8-week expedition (Phase One) acted as a pilot scheme for a model for climate reconstruction in Ethiopia and lay the foundation for a climate reconstruction laboratory at Addis Ababa University (AAU).

Tourism

Tourism is a fledging industry to most Ethiopians, but one that could contribute significantly to the GDP, when current political conditions improve to allow the resurgence of a 'confidence-based' business. Travel and tourism operators within Ethiopia are established and experienced in their field. The significant block to tourism growth at the moment is the general Euro-centric perception of Ethiopia as an inaccessible destination, lacking in resources. Perceptions of war, famine and poverty have been unmanaged since Ethiopia came into the public eye in the 1980's. During its 8 field weeks EV gathered data that it aspires to contribute to a 'changing perception' strategy.

Famine Foods

The United Nations Emergency Unit for Ethiopia (UN-EUE; part of UNDP) has initiated a project to build up a database of famine foods in Ethiopia in order to understand their significance in terms of livelihood survival strategies. They have done some surveys in southern Ethiopia and it was the aim of EV to contribute to this database by doing similar surveys in northern Ethiopia. It is hoped that some of these famine foods, if cultivated, could eventually provide a viable addition or alternative to the usual food crops. To put the usage of famine foods into a wider context, EV also looked at other coping strategies utilized by farmers.