The Yeheb Project

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Our vision is to improve the lives of communities in the drylands of the Horn of Africa by restoring the Yeheb plant as a reliable, drought-resistant source of food and fodder

20/03/2026

Eid Mubarak to all our friends and followers 🌟💫

31/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 31

On this final day, we look back with gratitude on our visit and the sponsors who made it possible: Initiatives of Change United Kingdom, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund. We thank them for sharing and supporting our vision.

We would like to thank three people in particular. The first is Ahmed Ugas Guntane, Director of Rangeland and Forestry Research Directorate at SoRPARI, who accompanied us throughout, introduced us to his colleagues at tree nurseries and conservation sites and ensured our safety on the roads. Axmed Ugas we look forward to the day when we can once again enjoy a glass of camel milk with you in the hinterland!

The second is Mr Badal Kenadid Mohamed, Director of Natural Resource Development, Protection and Utilisation at the Bureau of Agriculture. Badal has been a longstanding friend and supporter of the Yeheb Project and this mission could not have taken place without him. The Bureau does an excellent job of supporting the farmers and pastoralists of the Somali Regional State, with limited resources. They deserve all our support.

The third person is our good friend from Wardheer, Mohamed Hasan, whose enthusiasm and persistence overcame many obstacles and without whom the conservation area at Walwaal would not have happened. His calm good humour was an inspiration and never left him, whatever the circumstances. We know that the site is safe in his hands and look forward to returning soon, insha'Allah.

Finally thank you, dear readers, who have stuck with us over the month. We will keep posting news of course (a little less frequently perhaps) and please do keep in touch, either here or over on our website. We are always glad to hear from anyone involved in similar work and open to collaboration or just sharing ideas.

Website: https://buff.ly/3yMuqQL
Twitter: https://x.com/_yeheb
Bluesky: https://buff.ly/3AJaZJ7
Instagram: https://buff.ly/3AG3eDO

30/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 30 of 31 - the future

As we reflect on our Ethiopian journey, we are grateful for all that was achieved and, at the same time, acutely aware of the challenges faced by our friends and colleagues in Walwaal, Wardheer and Jijiga.

It will take more than yeheb - a slow-growing shrub providing two crops a year - to sustain communities. They will need vegetables, fruit trees, fodder crops and perhaps new enterprises to sustain them. We are open to all these possibilities.

The vegetable seeds that we planted do seem to be well cared-for and thriving, so far as we can tell from photographs. It will take time to establish which varieties do best in the sandy soil, which is deep and free-draining but relatively lacking in nutrients.

We would be keen to hear from others working with communities in Somalia or the Somali Region of Ethiopia. There is always scope to learn from each others' experience and to collaborate on future projects. Please do get in touch via the website, or by replying in the comments below.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

29/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 29 of 31 - lessons learned: growing yeheb

The main goals of our visit were to deliver training and establish a conservation area near Walwaal. During our time, we gathered valuable new knowledge about cultivating the yeheb shrub.

We learned that yeheb still grows in the wild over a significant area and that these mature shrubs must be 30 years old or more, estimated by extrapolating from the rate of growth of seedlings. Local people could not give us any more accurate estimate.

We confirmed that yeheb seeds should be sown as soon as possible after picking, as first described by Josefine Liew in her 2003 Masters thesis at Uppsala University: https://buff.ly/3AUeLPV

At Walwaal yeheb seeds achieved ~70% germination whether sown into bags or direct into the soil. The advantage of bags is they can be shaded and watered, the advantage of direct sowing is of course that the plants can be sown in their final position and left undisturbed.

We found - contrary to what we had believed - that yeheb seedlings can survive being transplanted, even if the roots are exposed in the process. Survival is not assured, but it is possible. Using biodegradable bags should improve survival rates further.

What we don't yet know is how to achieve higher growth rates. Yeheb seedlings that we saw at two to three years old were only 15-20cm tall. Would organic fertiliser help or hinder? What about treatment with mycorrhizal fungi? Is shade important? We will seek to find out.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

28/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 28 of 31 - lessons learned: finance

Ethiopia together with other East African countries is a leader in the mobile money revolution. This brings real benefits to small businesses, who can receive payments quickly and securely. Next time, we will make sure to use e-money ourselves - both for security and to provide an audit trail. It will make project finances easier for us and our valued sponsors.

This is not the same as using a conventional bank account and debit card, which is not accepted outside the large cities. For project expenses, we found that most traders preferred cash. They were sometimes reluctant to provide a receipt, hence we took photos of the transaction.

In Walwaal and Jijiga, we asked about the supply of credit. It seems this is less of a barrier than other aspects of the business environment, such as infrastructure and licensing.

We met several enterprising residents of Walwaal who had set up businesses with modest capital, including a bakery, a chicken rearing business and concrete block production. The economic potential is just waiting to be unleashed.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

27/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 27 of 31 - lessons learned: tree nurseries

Tree nurseries play a valuable role in providing local farmers with tree seedlings and advice on planting. They are an immediate and visible form of outreach for SoRPARI and the Agriculture Bureau,. with a lot of potential.

We visited three nurseries, at Jijiga (largest in the region), Gambarey, and Degeh Bur on the road south from Jijiga. Once we have established the right growing conditions for yeheb, these sites could be a good route for the distribution of seedlings.

The Degeh Bur site is in an urban setting, in an area of dense housing (see Google map image), while the Gambarey site is remote. Nursery managers face a range of challenges, from water supply to fencing to maintaining a good supply of seedlings. We found them to be resourceful, knowledgeable and well-connected.

All the nurseries use branches to shade vulnerable seedlings. We copied this approach on the conservation site in Walwaal. Ideally we would have used green netting to cover a larger area, but this is difficult to source outside the capital.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

26/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 26 of 31 - lessons learned: training

This was our first training session with the residents of Walwaal. The syllabus was well-received and relevant. The presentation of certificates was a notable village occasion.

The simple equipment we had brought worked well. Two secondhand Samsung tablets were cheap to buy and useful for showing slides and videos. A projector would have been useless in the bright sunshine.

We received feedback from participants about the tools they would find most useful, the vegetables they wished to grow and the challenges they faced excluding livestock from their gardens. This is all valuable information for the future.

We had agreed on the number of participants beforehand and this was exceeded. Some were turned away and were disappointed. We could have anticipated this and next time we will bring spare materials and certificates.

The training consisted of six half-day sessions (i.e. three days) and one day's practical. With hindsight, we could have used more practical time as this was highly productive. We will bear this in mind for our next mission.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

25/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 25 of 31 - Safety

A few people have asked whether we felt safe on this journey. Yes, of course. We had the correct credentials and were accompanied by the excellent Mr Ugas from SoRPARI, who ensured the authorities in each location were aware of the purpose of our visit.

Although the UK's Foreign Office does not recommend travel to Ethiopia at present, context is everything. The Somali Regional State is stable and well-administered. Jijiga is a safe destination with many international visitors.

There are a few things to look out for. Driving is tricky, our driver Khalid is skilled and we were glad to have him. Floors can be slippery because of the use of smooth, glazed tiles in bathrooms as a 'luxury' feature. Visitors sometimes go home in plaster, having broken a hip or leg. No such problems in Wardheer, though.

Finally, Ethiopian electrics can be... interesting. This arrangement in the bathroom of one hotel was probably the most dangerous thing we came across on our journey. The yellow wires power the light - no fuse or pull-switch. There is a national skills shortage in construction trades, especially plumbers and electricians.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

24/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 24 of 31 - Wardheer

This was our base for working at the conservation site at Walwaal. Wardheer is a rural market town, the capital of the Dollo Zone. It's a characterful place, full of enterprising, hard-working people.

Our favourite spot in the town was the Wardheer Cafeteria, right in the centre by a circular garden where several roads meet. The owner, Ms Hafsa is welcoming and a great cook. This was a good location to meet people and unwind after a day's work.

Just nearby is the Tayosiir General Trading Company, a hardware store where we were able to get tools and a wheelbarrow for the villagers of Walwaal. It was a pleasure to find such a well-stocked shop with its knowledgeable owner.

Wardheer is a relaxed, friendly place to stay and we look forward to returning and renewing the friendships we made.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

23/08/2024

The Yeheb Project mission to Ethiopia - one post each day in August.

Day 23 of 31 - Jijiga

Jijiga has been the capital of the Somali Regional State since 1995 and is a fast-growing city of some 400,000 people to the north of the region, around 70km to the west of the border with Somaliland. The city is thriving, with new industries being established and construction projects everywhere.

We stayed in Jijiga while visiting the offices of our partners at the Agriculture Bureau (day 10) and SoRPARI (day 11) and our colleague at Candlelight, Mr Suleiman (day 7). Jijiga is an essential stop for anyone with business in the Somali Region.

It was a real pleasure to catch up with our friends and longstanding supporters of The Yeheb Project, Sarah and Donald, with whom we paid a visit to the bustling market and the excellent Mahuraan bakery not far from their home.

The trustees of The Yeheb Project would like to thank Initiatives of Change UK, the Irene Prestwich Trust and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, whose support made this project possible.

Address

Little Tedney Cottage
Worcester
WR65RX

Website

http://yeheb.org/

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