Tsega Endalew Etefa: Inter-Ethnic Relations on a Frontier: Mätäkkäl (Ethiopia), 1898-1991

Revie

The Socio-Economic Role and Status of Handicraftsmen among the Kambaata of Southern Ethiopia

Although traditional handicraftsmen play an indispensable economic and socio-cultural role within the society, they have been marginalized and segregated by the peasant population in southern Ethiopia. The handicraftsmen produce a wide range of production, household consumption and defence tools and implements. Besides, they have an important socio-cultural role as ritual performers, initiators, drummers, musicians, entertainers, operators, professional mourners, traditional medical experts, etc. during several social life events. However, despite their important role in multiple contexts, they are despised and prejudiced against by the peasant population. They are kept away and segregated from the rest of the society, being considered as unclean, and restricted in many ways, including limitation to endogamous marriage.This study examines the ambiguous and ambivalent position of the handicraftsmen, as well as their mutual interdependence within the peasant population by investigating the particular case of potters   and smiths among the Kambaata of southern Ethiopia

Understanding the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of resettlement projects

Studies from the Global South on resettlement have focused on compensatory issues, with a little emphasis on socio-cultural, economic, and environmental impacts. The present study therefore focused on exploring the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental impacts of the Bui-Dam project in five resettled communities in Ghana. We used mixed methods to analyse household and qualitative in-depth interviews with institutions. We found that while resettlement projects offer positive benefits, they also yield negative impacts on the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of the resettled population. It is therefore important that policymakers carefully review and systematically integrate these concerns into resettlement plans

Persistence and changes in the peripheral Beles basin of Ethiopia

We have investigated the relevance of the notion of "peripheralism" in the Beles basin. In this lowland border area of Ethiopia, important investments require an evaluation of their socio-economic and ecological impacts in the light of Ethiopia's Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. We contrasted literature of different periods with field observations. In the middle and lower parts of the basin, the Gumuz people traditionally practised shifting cultivation. Resettlement of highlanders is particularly linked to water and land resources. A large irrigation project was initiated in the 1980s, but vegetables and fruits face post-harvest losses. Large water transfers from Lake Tana since 2010 affect the movement of people, the hydrogeomorphology, and ecology of the river. In several parts of the basin, the settlers' economy now dominates. Many Gumuz became sedentary but maintained their agricultural system, particularly in the south of the lower basin. Land titling allowed allocation of "vacant" areas to transnational or domestic investors. As a result, the semi-natural vegetation is frequently replaced by open cropland, leading to decreased carbon storage and increased soil erosion. This and water abstraction for irrigation jeopardise hydropower production, in contradiction with the CRGE objectives. Despite the recent developments, the contrasts in economic activity make the core-periphery dichotomy to remain actual in the Beles basin. The resettlements and permanent cropping tend to make the upper basin part of the core. However, the installation of a transit road and commercial farms in the lower basin do not allow to consider that a non-peripheral integration has taken place