Power to the people in rural Ethiopia

I’ve just been travelling in Ethiopia for the third time and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to make repeat visits to a number of the coffee co-operatives with whom we trade. Signs of progress are plain to see; in rural Ethiopia, where government investment is extremely limited, coffee farmers are using the extra money they receive from fair trade for projects such as building more classrooms, putting in more power lines, and building better roads for themselves and their communities. It’s extremely satisfying to see how Kiwis paying a few cents more for their coffee can have such an impact in a country where a little money goes a very long way.

I do find my work challenging though. I arrived in Ethiopia conscious that prices for the coffee we import from this country have climbed sharply in recent years and that a number of the roasters who buy Ethiopian coffee from Trade Aid are starting to buy less of it as a result. On the other side, I've been talking with coffee farmers who still (barely) illuminate their homes with tiny diesel-fuelled lamps. They dream of the day when they would have electricity, could flick on a switch and enjoy the brightness of a light bulb, and could save critical income by not having to regularly buy new batteries to power their radios.

Our trip ended on a high with us making the first trip by any coffee western coffee buyers down to the village of Mummicha, which is in one of the main coffee-producing valleys west of Harrar. We borrowed tents from the Oromia co-operative's office in Addis Ababa and were humbled to find on pitching them that in remote parts of Harrar such accommodation is deemed to be very luxurious. Cooking our dinner over an open fire, it felt very much like a typical camping experience in New Zealand but for us it was an adventure, and not our everyday routine. In this village, like so many others in rural Ethiopia, there was no electricity to light the way that night. We all came home with a slightly deeper appreciation of how life is for millions in rural Ethiopia when the sun goes down.