Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007
Subject: TTT The Trumble Travels - Teff Ethiopia IV
The drive to the town of Arerti took us WAY off the beaten path. As mentioned in a previous TTT it included many kilometers of driving on rocky roads. This took us through areas that are rural and where many modern luxuries are unavailable to the common person.
We passed through teff-growing country. Teff is a grain that is used to make injera, one of the main staples of the Ethiopian diet. To make injera, one takes teff and lets it soak in water for 2-3 days so that it ferments a bit and then it is cooked (or baked or whatever) and made into injera. It may be crushed into flour or something before it is soaked but I just am not totally sure. If you must know you can ask me and I can probably find out. The farmers use animals and their own effort to do the farming…no tractors.
A 100 kg sack of teff can be purchased for about 500-600 birr (about US$55-70). In rural areas it is transported by a person or a beast of burden like a burro or a camel. Burros and camels can also be used to haul water.
Teff (taken from a poster in one of the projects)
Rocky road and cattle
Fields in a valley where teff is grown
Beasts of burden
Bags of teff
Financial records at one of the projects we visited
Camel with yellow water containers
Transportation
Camel
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