By Tsegay Wolde-Georgis | Project Manager
Dear supporters
The project you have been supporting, building victory gardens....has began to impact schools of higher education in the region. It has influenced a research interest at Mekelle University’s Ethiopian Institute for Climate and Society (ICS). Amanuel Gebru, a former development practitioner in one of the local NGOs and an active volunteer in our project has been admitted to the Climate and Society Masters program in 2013/14.. I met Amanuel in December when I visited Mekelle University to teach Sustainable Development to the incoming graduate students. Amanuel took the time to take me to his experimental site (see picture). I also read his draft proposal and discussed his planned experiment on the effectiveness of the clay pot irrigaiton system. He wants to test a bar-shaped clay pot design instead of the traditional round clay pot. The bar shaped clay pot for the experiment is also manufactured by traditional female potter in the nearby village.
When completed, the research output will have a positive impact on the diffusion of the buried clay pot irrigation method. It will also contribute to the sustainability of the idea and help for a successful climate change adaptation and food security in this arid area and beyond. Amanuel’s hypothesis is that “water filled and buried clay pot irrigation technology could play a big role under climate variability in producing more crop even under drought conditions and high transpiration” is an idea whose time has come. Amanuel believes that the bar shaped clay pot might be the best design and efficient irrigation system. Lets hope that he comes up with a successful positive outcome from his research.
Amanuel’s research is progressing with a test site that was assigned to him by Mekelle University. He will ‘attempt to map area suitability of clay pot technology, test the bar shaped clay pot design and see profitability of the technology on the targeted research area. Amanuel's lead thesis advisor Dr. Araya A. Berhe of the ICS is very optimistic about the research outcome. We wish Amanuel the best of lack and also thank you for his volunteering on the project. We will keep you updated on the success of the research.
This implies that your support to the project through globalgiving.org is having a larger impact beyond the students in the village.
Again, thank you for the support. Happy Spring to you and your loved ones!
By Tsegay Wolde-Georgis | Project Manager
By Tsegay Wolde-Georgis | Manager
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