Audience: NGOs • Students • Researchers • Development orgs • Responsible travelers
Season: October – December (Teff Harvest)
Focus: Smallholder farmers, food systems, livelihoods, gender, markets, climate resilience
Itinerary
Day 1 :
Arrival in Addis Ababa | Orientation
- Focus: Context setting
- Arrival at Bole International Airport
- Group briefing:
- Ethiopian agriculture overview
- Teff's role in food security & economy
- Visit:
- National Museum (human origins & agriculture link)
- Welcome dinner + teff varietal tasting
- Overnight: Addis Ababa
Learning themes
Ethiopia's farming systems & Teff as a cultural + economic crop
Day 2 :
Addis Ababa → Bishoftu (Debre Zeit)
- Focus: Harvest observation (central Rift Valley)
- Drive ~1 hr
- Visit smallholder teff farms during harvest
- Cutting, drying, stacking sheaves
- Oxen use & labor sharing systems
- Farmer dialogue:
- Yield challenges
- Weather variability
- Afternoon reflection session
- Overnight: Bishoftu
Day 3 :
Bishoftu → Woliso (Oromia Region)
- Focus: Traditional harvest systems
- Observe:
- Threshing (animal-powered)
- Winnowing techniques
- Group participation (optional, supervised)
- Discussion:
- Labor roles (youth & elders)
- Cost of production vs market price
- Evening:
- Community injera preparation
- Overnight: Woliso / community lodge
Day 4 :
Woliso → Gurage Zone
- Focus: Mixed farming & resilience
- Visit Gurage smallholder farms:
- Teff + enset + legumes
- Harvest storage methods:
- Pest control
- Post-harvest loss prevention
- Community meal + storytelling
- Overnight: Gurage Zone
Day 5 :
Gurage → Hosaena (Hadiya Zone)
- Focus: Cooperatives & institutions
- Meet farmer cooperatives
- Collective threshing
- Grain aggregation
- NGO-style learning session:
- Extension services
- Access to seed & finance
- Evening student reflection
- Overnight: Hosaena
Day 6 :
Hosaena → Arba Minch
- Focus: Regional diversity
- Drive south through highland-lowland transition
- Market stops:
- Observe grain trading
- Price negotiation practices
- Evening lecture:
- Teff vs maize/sorghum consumption
- Overnight: Arba Minch
Day 7 :
Arba Minch | Rural Livelihoods
- Focus: Comparative food systems
- Visit farming villages
- Discussions:
- Crop diversification
- Nutrition outcomes
- Optional:
- Lake Chamo visit
- Overnight: Arba Minch
Day 8 :
Arba Minch → Hawassa
- Focus: Women & value addition
- Visit women-led injera enterprises
- Milling
- Fermentation science
- Energy use (firewood vs alternatives)
- Gender-focused discussion:
- Income control
- Workload
- Overnight: Hawassa
Day 9 :
Hawassa → Debre Birhan
- Focus: High-altitude teff production
- Travel north to cold-climate teff zone
- Field visit:
- Frost-resistant varieties
- Late harvest challenges
- (If accessible) meet researchers or extension officers
- Overnight: Debre Birhan
Day 10 :
Debre Birhan → Addis Ababa
- Focus: Markets & policy
- Visit Addis grain markets:
- Teff grading
- Price differences (white/red/mixed)
- Discussion:
- Urban vs rural consumption
- Export debates
- Closing reflection workshop
- Farewell dinner
Overnight: Addis Ababa
Day 11 :
Departure
Optional:
- Teff flour purchase
- Handicrafts supporting rural women
Departure
