The Nexus between Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Development in Ethiopia: Review of Existing Literature

This article synthesizes the findings from review of existing literature on the links between culture indigenous knowledge and development in Ethiopia Culture and indigenous knowledge have paramount contribution to development It is very recently that culture becomes the agenda in the development discourses Ethiopia is endowed with hundreds and thousands of tangible and intangible cultural heritages The influence of culture on politics and economy is significant in Ethiopia and government policy shapes culture in the Country The review of existing literature indicates that little attention is paid by the majority of the authors to show the links between indigenous knowledge culture and development Many of the articles reviewed in this study are not rigor enough to contribute towards development by providing sufficient knowledge on culture and tradition It is safe to conclude that knowledge production in the areas of culture and indigenous knowledge in Ethiopia is at the infancy stage Many of the existing studies in the area are not pioneered by Ethiopian scholar

Assessment of women savings and credit cooperative services in Zuway Dugda District, south east Ethiopia

The purpose of the study was to assess contributions of Savings and Credit Cooperative services to improve rural poor women’s living conditions and their socioeconomic and political empowerment in the Zuway Dugda District, South East Ethiopia. A mixed research design was employed through using quantitative and qualitative research methods and research instruments/tools, respectively, to generate pertinent primary and secondary data from the respective sources. Among 527 women as a target population in those rural villages of the District, a total of was 70 women in the Cooperatives was drawn as a sample. The study found out that poor women in the study area have shown an exemplary role in fighting poverty through organizing themselves and pooling their meagre resources in improving their lives and working conditions, as well as empowering them in making decisions on limited issues at household level, but not as such at community level. The study therefore revealed the importance of cooperatives’ services for the well-being of the members, their families and their community in poverty reduction through economic and social development and employment creation; their contributions to the members of the Savings and Credit Cooperatives in improving household income, expenditure, shelter, household assets, food access, education and in accessing health care services; and to the improvement of decision making power of members at family level. However, further studies are necessary to determine the positive contributions of the Savings and Credit Cooperatives’ services in various socio-cultural, economic and political contexts at different levels in the District.Keywords: Savings, credit, cooperatives, services, Zuway Dugda, Ethiopi

10. Customary Dispute Resolution in Addis Ababa, with Reference to Yeka Kifle Ketema

Profile of the region and area Addis Ababa was established in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taitu as the country’s capital. Most of its built up area falls within the altitude range of 2200 m to 2500 m above sea level, the northernmost part of the city is about 3000m. Entoto Hills to the North, Mounts Wechecha and Furi to the West and Southwest and Yerer Mountain in the East and South encircle Addis Ababa. According to the Population and Housing Census of 1994, the population was ove..

Actor roles and networks in agricultural climate services in Ethiopia: a social network analysis

This paper aims to better understand actors involved in the generation, translation, communication and governance of agricultural climate services and their networks in Ethiopia. To achieve these objectives, about 65 actor organizations were selected across seven regions and two city administrations in Ethiopia through a scoping study, extensive literature review, and snowball sampling. Structured questionnaires with closed and open-ended questions were designed to gather relevant information. Results were used to compute network size, density and centrality measures. Our findings show that climate services are regularly communicated to only 10% of the total districts (woredas) on average, with only a third of the actors involved in communicating these services. No single organization or institution plays a dominant role in production, translation, communication or governance of climate services, but a network of organizations and institutions are involved. Major challenges faced by the actors involved in production, translation and delivery of climate services included lack of human and financial resources and weak monitoring and evaluation systems. The paper highlights the importance of strengthening partnerships and networking among actors including monitoring and evaluation systems at all levels to facilitate effective production, translation and dissemination of climate services to farmers

Grass-roots Justice in Ethiopia

This book presents a timely review of the relations between the formal and customary justice systems in Ethiopia, and offers recommendations for legal reform. The book provides cases studies from all the Region of Ethiopia based on field research on the working of customary dispute resolution (CDR) institutions, their mandates, compositions, procedures and processes. The cases studies also document considerable unofficial linkages with the state judicial system, and consider the advantages as well as the limitations of customary institutions with respect to national and international law. The editor's introduction reviews the history of state law and its relations with customary law, summarises the main findings by region as well as as on inter-ethnic issues, and draws conclusions about social and legal structures, principles of organization, cultural concepts and areas, and judicial processes. The introduction also addresses the questions of inclusion and exclusion on the basis of gerontocratic power, gender, age and marginalised status, and the gradual as well as remarkable recent transformations of CDR institutions. The editor's conclusion reviews the characteristics, advantages and limitations of CDR institutions. A strong case is made for greater recognition of customary systems and better alliance with state justice, while safeguarding individual and minority rights. The editors suggest that the current context of greater decentralization opens up opportunities for pratical collaboration between the systems by promoting legal pluralism and reform, thereby enhancing local level justice delivery. The editors conclude by proposing a range of options for more meaningful partnership for consideration by policy makers, the legal profession and other stakeholders. In memory of Aberra Jembere and Dinsa Lepisa. Cover: Elders at peace ceremony in Arbore, 1993