Mekedis is a single mother of five children who lives and farms in the Dengeshta community. She is also one of 14 recipients in her community to receive a recent micro loan from Project Ethiopia. This year we established a second micro loan fund that will benefit residents of Dengeshta.

With a desire and vision to share his farming knowledge and experience with others in the community, our Project Leader, Workineh Genetu, formed the first Project Ethiopia Farmers’ Association in 2007. The goal was simple from the beginning: By training a core group of farmers in each village to improve their practices and increase yield, knowledge would spread naturally among families and neighbors to eventually impact an entire community.

Because a family’s diet is so often self-sourced or bought locally, without healthy and prolific livestock production, many become – or are raised – malnourished.

Most people in the U.S. would find it impossible to fund their entrepreneurial efforts with aloan of only $200 or $300. However, in the area where we work, a loan of this size can turneconomic ideas and dreams into a reality and entrepreneurs into agents of change.

For many in Ethiopia, daily life is deeply intertwined with and influenced by the success of their agriculture, and its importance to the nation’s development and security can’t be overstated.

Work in the new year is well underway to bring new schools, safe water, dry homes, better sanitation, and farming support to communities throughout the Dangla area.

This past October, I had the privilege to travel to Dangla, meet the Project Ethiopia team, and visit many of our project sites. It was a quick and jam-packed week. From participating in the University Transition Awards ceremony within a couple of hours of our arrival, to witnessing the formation of two new farmers’ associations complete with a very lively nomination process to select the leadership, to visiting 10 schools helped by our project, I was so inspired by all that has been accomplished and the clear vision for what is yet to be done.

Perhaps you know about Project Ethiopia’s efforts to increase access to education and build healthy village communities, but do you know about our work bringing farmers together to learn new ideas, address the challenges many face on their farms, and share solutions?