Tigray, Ethiopia’s northernmost state bordering Eritrea, is home to the country’s third largest ethnic group, the Tigrayans. The region has suffered from decades of conflict; from 1961 to 1991 and from 1998 to 2000, with Ethiopia and Eritrea fighting for border control, killing and displacing thousands.
These images were taken on assignment in 2015 with Trocaire, an Irish NGO, working in partnership with local NGOs in Tigray.
Tragically, since these images were taken, another brutal conflict rages in this region erupting in 2020 with the Tigrayans fighting allied Ethiopian and Eritrean forces.
Mulu Abreha, 54, lives in the village of Ruwaksa with her husband Berhe, and three children. Mulu grows coffee, fruits and vegetables on their 2 hectares of land. She and her husband received support from local NGO ADCS who set up an irrigation scheme from 2007 to 2011 for the local area providing training, tools, seeds and saplings. Mulu and Berhe lived through years of civil war enduring conflict, drought and famine. The new scheme has enabled them to maximise their land and produce two to three harvests a year. They have been able to build a new house and rent more land to grow crops.
Mulu is a local government representative for her community, the first female from her community to have this position, and chairperson of the local women’s group.
Berhe tells us, “there have been many changes for the worse in the climate. We would have had the rains every year before from June to September and short rains in the dry season. Now there are no short rains and the long rains only come in July & August. Thankfully because of the irrigation we are able to produce all year round now but many other people have to depend on the rain and go hungry.”
Mulu and her son Girmay, 13. Mulu adopted Girmay when his parents fell ill and passed away. Mulu tells us that “health is a massive issue for us. We are very remote and inaccessible by vehicles. If someone gets very sick we have to carry them 3km to a health point and if necessary, we have to arrange transport to take them another 10km to the clinic/hospital. Now there are health outreach workers which has helped with maternal and child health.” Having road access would also help the villagers to get their cash crops to market on time.
Mulu with her husband, Berhe, and son, Girmay. Mulu says “We not only work together as husband and wife but we plan together too. This was not really a common way of doing things but people are starting to copy us. It has been challenging but there are always challenges when changing cultures.”
Berhe goes on to say, “without the intervention we would not be where we are now. It is through the project that we have been transformed. We are very, very happy.”
Gebretsadik Taddele, 33, farmer and father of three children, is a farmer from the village of Golagul. In 2012, local NGO ADCS constructed a 2 kilometre irrigation system, channeling water to the local area from Arato reservoir. He says the land was previously unproductive and sometimes the rains didn’t come; life was very difficult. He worked as a daily labourer to get by; he and his wife divided their meals so that the children could eat less but for a longer number of days. “I cannot express in words how it made me feel to see my child not eating, going to school, clothed. What could be worse?”
Gebretsadik has since been able to produce more crops and life has vastly improved. “After I got my own ¼ acre irrigated, within 1 year I was renting the extra land. The difference it has made to my family is incomparable. Now we have our own house. We are able to send the children to school and buy them books. We have a better diet. We have TV and even savings.” “I am hoping to be able to buy dairy cows and maybe oxen. One day I might even have a house in town – this is my dream.”
Gebretensay Gebreteklay, 15, Golagul village.
Tamrat Kasa, 27, and her one year old son, Abiti. Tamrat is one of 12 members of a fruit tree cooperative in the community of May Tuem. This community-based sustainable livelihood project was started in 2014 and supported by local NGO,REST. Water tanks and an irrigation system were built to store and pump water up to bench terraces where mango, orange, avocado and papaya were planted. The trees should produce 2 harvests a year when they start to mature in roughly 3 years. Interim crops have been planted such as tomatoes and onions until the trees bear fruit. The land is now legally owned by the co-op.
Tamrat is the cashier for the project, something she is very proud of, “I am married to a farmer but it is very hard to grow enough to feed ourselves because of the lack of rain. We have to live with my husbands parents. The five of us live in one room. It is a very uncomfortable situation but we have no choice. It is hard to work with the baby on my back but it is his future I am thinking of. I work for seven hours every day from 6am to 1pm. I was really stressed before being at home all day but now I’m really happy. I am struggling here every day to change our future.”
Gebremichael Gebretsadiq (L), 25, and Silas Woldegergis (R), 20, are members of a local bee-keeping cooperative, a community project for landless youth supported by local NGO, REST. Before the project, Gebremichael worked as a daily labourer but work was often infrequent. “This is a really good new initiative. I have confidence in the project. We might be able to purchase a vehicle some day for the cooperative so we can transport our honey to market ourselves. I would love to build a house. We all work well together and our parents are proud of us. “
Silas also worked as a daily labourer but as a woman, earned less than her male counterparts: 45 Birr (£1.50) a day as opposed to 75 Birr (£2.50) for men. “I know have hopes for the future. I plan to be a good person with a good steady income. I would like to diversify my income by buying livestock or opening a shop. I could even consider trying for university again. I want a family of my own some day. If this project is a success I will be able to provide for my children in the future. We all work really well together. We share the jobs but the boys look after the security of the project at night – out of respect the girls aren’t asked to do this.”
Nigisty Hailemal Iam, 58, mother of 6 and widow, has lived near the village of Sebeya for more than 40 years. Nigisty lost her husband to fighting 16 years ago. “My husband was my rock. My mother died when I was very young. My husband managed to ensure we survived the famine in the 1980’s. He had a donkey and used it to transport aid. He was a very strong man. Without him I would have died.”
Nigisty inherited a small plot of land from her husband which she used to grow maize and wheat but the longer dry seasons have disrupted harvests. Over the last 5 years, she has lost 4 harvests. Nigisty was selected as a beneficiary for a micro-loan of 5000 Birr (approx £166) to buy sheep which she now breeds and sells. “I am hoping that this opportunity will enable me to pay off my debts, pay back the micro-loan over the next three years and be able to finally look forward to the future with confidence.”
Mihret Atsebeha, 45, with her daughter, Samrawit, 13. Mihret was displaced from Eritrea because of fighting 13 years ago. She arrived in the town of Sebeya with her 3 children with nothing. She still does not know what became of her husband. Two years ago, she was selected to become a beneficiary of a Trociare supported micr-finance project. With a small loan of 5000 Birr (£170), Mihret was able to open a shop selling spices, vegetables and household goods. She was also able to buy sheep and chickens which she now breeds and sells at market. With the new income she has generated, she has been able to build a small house for her family and send her children to school. “If we had not been helped I think we would be dead. We are very happy now. Life is very different from before. The children are at school and I hope they will be able to go to university. If they don’t then I will help them open their own shops.”
The obelisks of Axum date from between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD; the site marks the heart of the ancient Ethiopia, the Axumite Kingdom. The obelisks are said to function as markers for underground burial sites. The largest standing obelisk, known as King Ezana’s stele, measures 24 metres. In 1935, following the Italian occupation, the obelisk was taken by the Italians and displayed in Rome. In 2005, it was finally returned to Ethiopia and re-erected by UNESCO in 2008.
The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, Axum. The church site contains the original church, believed to have been built during the 4th century AD; the New Cathedral (pictured), by the Emperor Haile Selassie in the 1950s, and a chapel that is said to house the Ark of the Covenant.