Kara Community Farm

The Omo Valley’s Kara community is coming under increasing pressure. Our work aims to empower and support the community, providing livelihood options which will enable them to make informed decisions about their future.

The Kara are a Nilotic ethnic group famous for their body painting. They are one of the smallest tribes in the regions with a population of somewhere between one and three thousand. They live along the east banks of the Omo River in southern Ethiopia. The Omo valley is a beautiful area with diverse ecosystems including grasslands, volcanic outcrops, and one of the few remaining ‘pristine’ riverine forests in semi-arid Africa which supports a wide variety of wildlife. Primarily agro-pastoralists, the Kara practice flood-retreat cultivation, growing crops such as sorghum.

The Omo Valley’s Kara community is coming under increasing pressure due to a gradual reduction in annual rainfall and a complete failure of seasonal floods from the Omo River that the Kara rely on. Annual flooding irrigates and provides nutrients that allow the Kara to practice flood-retreat cultivation and grow the food they depend on. Unfortunately, hydroelectric dams upstream have all but halted the river’s flow. This unprecedented lack of flooding is leading to a food security crisis that is worsened by increasing large scale agriculture and land competition.

With support from Only the Brave Foundation, we are supporting the Kara community with food security and livelihood diversification. Our work aims to empower the community and provide livelihood options which will enable them to make informed decisions about their future.

Our solution is to establish a solar-powered irrigation system on the Kara community farm that will enable the cultivation of 7 acres of river-bank land. This will provide the Kara with a dependable supply of water for crop cultivation, alleviating food insecurity. Sorghum will be the primary crop for the Kara village of Dus, yet fruits, herbs and vegetables can also be sold to Lale’s Camp, an ecotourist resort managed by Wild Philanthropy’s ecotourism operator ‘Wild Expedition’. This solution therefore addresses present food security issues, encourages a diversification of income streams, and increases community revenue.

If you would like to know more, support the Kara Community Farm project, or become a Friend of Wild Philanthropy, please contact Paul Herbertson at Wild Philanthropy.