STNMTZ_20201129_8323.TIF | George Steinmetz

In the highlands of southern Ethiopia, fortified villages
of the Konso people are surrounded by steep terraced fields of teff, millet, and corn contained by dry stone walls. The communities also build and maintain reservoirs, using agricultural techniques adapted to the semi-arid climate over four centuries. In Brusso village, new metal-roofed homes mingle with thatch-roofed tukuls that store crops and shelter livestock. A tukul also houses the cooperatively run village mill that stone-grinds each family’s harvest with a diesel motor. In recent years, drought-induced crop failures, along with changing attitudes toward the communal labor required to maintain the stone terraces, have stressed Konso’s traditional soil and water conservation practices.

Filename: STNMTZ_20201129_8323.TIF
Copyright: George Steinmetz
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In the highlands of southern Ethiopia, fortified villages <br />
of the Konso people are surrounded by steep terraced fields of teff, millet, and corn contained by dry stone walls. The communities also build and maintain reservoirs, using agricultural techniques adapted to the semi-arid climate over four centuries. In Brusso village, new metal-roofed homes mingle with thatch-roofed tukuls that store crops and shelter livestock. A tukul also houses the cooperatively run village mill that stone-grinds each family’s harvest with a diesel motor. In recent years, drought-induced crop failures, along with changing attitudes toward the communal labor required to maintain the stone terraces, have stressed Konso’s traditional soil and water conservation practices.