AbiyAlem, 29, grew up in one of the rural villages of West Gojjam zone, in Amhara state. His childhood had greatly been inspired by the spectacular look of his neighborhood. As a child, he used to look after his family’s sheep and goats at the beautiful meadow of his village.
After getting done with his primary education at his hometown, he was, however, brought to Addis to pursue his secondary level education.
It seemed that Abiy’s course of life had seen a little bit of change. He studied Computer Science, joining Mekele University. And he started a new life after graduation getting employed at a private firm in the urban center, but his connection with his neighborhood has been unbroken.
A lot has been changed in his neighborhood. The forest is cleared; the rivers flow in small volumes and indigenous wisdom is being forgotten. Later, he has brought a project that could rehabilitate the lost nature and wisdom and has realized an unusual tourist destination called Mulu Ecolodge at his hometown.
MuluEcolodge, lying on a five-hectare of land, is located near to Choke Mountain, dubbed as the water tanker of the area. The mountain as well feeds rivers that are tributary to Abay (Nile) River.
“Choke Mountains are a large block of highland found south of Lake Tana in the center of Gojjam. The neighboring towns are Bahir Dar in the north and Debre Markos in the south.
“The central area is located at 10042’ N and 370 50’ E. The highest peak rises to 4100 m.a.s.l. The area is the source of 59 rivers and 273 springs and it is the water tower of the upper Blue Nile Basin. The Choke Mountain ecosystems are home to a diversity of plants and animals lives with a high level of endemism,” as information obtained from Debre Markos University says.
The area is also home to various animal species such as leopard, common jackal, colobus monkey. It also embraces varieties of plants including giant lobelia, lady’s mantle, Guassa grass, Red hot poker, St. Jhon’swort.
“There is no need to exploit the area to make ends meet,” he says, adding: “We can generate income from eco-tourism by conserving the environment, and protecting the culture.”
The project which he says was conceived in his mind for a long time had been midwived in July 2017. “It has been my long-time dream to help the community that owes me the present success.”
He says establishing the lodge had not been a bed of roses; it rather was a rocky path. It was tough for some individuals to share my vision. Finance was also another bottleneck, he recounts.
Choke Mountain has a lot to offer to visitors. And the conservation works pays off the community is immense. The asset had for so long been inconspicuous to many. “Thus, what I did exactly was convincing people to understand the project, and lend me hands in my effort of realizing the project.”
Establishing a lodge at the place has an obvious return. It is easier to attract visitors as the lodge avails the needed services. It also offers employment to the surrounding community. Also, the community can generate income in different ways. Speaking of the latter, he says the community now supplies the lodge with fresh produce and gets additional income.
“We have started traditional irrigation system by drilling boreholes, and we extract water from them and irrigate vegetable farm,” he adds.
They also brew local drinks like Tej and Tella and prepare Kolo, traditional snack, and sell to visitors.
People are also restoring the wisdom of traditional housing construction as well, he says. Residents constructed traditional houses to the lodge, according to him.
Most people consider that tourism is tantamount to human-made sites. But that is not an only tourist attraction. Trekking, site-seeing, discovering a new way of doing things, and the like are also part and parcel of tourism, he says. “That’s what we offer here to visitors.”
For instance, I only own the houses here at the Lodge. Even the houses are constructed by locals, there is a natural spectacular site, and the people also utilize their wisdom; hence, offer food and drinks to visitors. That means innovation and hard-work have turned the ragged part of the mountain to an incredible tourists’ destination.
The lodge has offered 14 permanent jobs but it grants up to 200 and plus seasonal jobs, he said. “For instance, 300 people involved in various capacities when we build houses at the Lodge.”
Those are not the only means of income to residents. Tourists hire donkey and horses, and residents make a good sum of money out of this.
The number of visitors is increasing from time to time. “Hundreds of them have visited the place, not to mention the invaluable supports they offered to us.”
Ethiopia has a great deal of asset worth visiting. What must be done is to take the initiative and developing the sites, he says. Particularly, the youth needs not to always be after the comforts of urban life, they ought to face the challenges in rural areas and improve theirs and the communities’ lives.
“All the efforts are a good model to the youths in particular and the residents in general,” according to him.
So far, around 8,000 tree seedlings have been planted in the area, and together with other similar efforts, the mountain is rehabilitating, he concludes.
For his part, Zelalem Tafere, West Gojjam Culture and Tourism Head says the administration has accepted the idea from the inception and has midwived his vision.
The project has, among others; introduced new farming techniques that have resulted in improving crop product and productivity.
The surrounding farmers have also emulated the lessons of conserving the environment to earn a livelihood, he stresses. “It is, by and large, a model work that we need to scale up.”
The Ethiopian Herald July 19/2019
BY MISGANAW ASNAKE
