Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Sure, shit happens — and on farms throughout the developing world, where the average person earns less than $1,000 a year, shit matters.

I’m in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, scouting locations for a new public television special about world hunger. Here at Abedi’s farm, I’m checking out a kind of septic tank where animal dung is mixed with water. Out the bottom drizzles fertilizer and out the top steams biogas (methane). Join me for a little tour.

Ethiopia, long the poster child for hunger and famine, is now a fine example of a country with a steadily improving economy. (For the last decade, its GDP has grown, on average, 10% a year.)

Ethiopia is divided into several thousand administrative units called “kebeles.” This system makes it easier to enact development initiatives and gives the government a smart way to coordinate and communicate with its 100 million people. The vast majority of Ethiopians are farmers — and when kebele leaders embrace strong programs from the national government, those farmers work smarter and grow well beyond subsistence farming. Join me at a farm in northern Ethiopia and take a look for yourself.

(Fun fact: Sociologists are finding that when rural communities in the developing world get electricity to power light bulbs and television sets, fertility rates go down.)

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While simple handouts can actually slow development, the most impactful aid helps people become more productive.

I’m in Ethiopia, learning about how some of the world’s poorest countries are developing, and studying the reasons for Ethiopia’s impressive progress. I’m seeing the value of smart partnerships between caring governments and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) — and I’m learning that women are critical to development. (Sorry, men — but it’s women who tend to be the ones dedicated to family, health, and fiscal responsibility.)

Today we visited an inspiring organization called Women in Self Employment (WISE), which is based out of a bustling neighborhood in Addis Ababa. Join me in this clip to learn about this shining example of a program that helps people help themselves in the developing world.

I’m in Ethiopia, scouting locations for a new public television special we’re producing about hunger and hope.

Today, in a humble neighborhood in Addis Ababa, we were invited into a ramshackle courtyard to see a grassroots savings association in action. Join me in this clip to watch Lisa and her neighbors band together for fiscal empowerment.

(You can bet I’ll be back to check in on Lisa when I return with our film crew in April.)

I’m in Ethiopia to scout locations for a new public television special about world hunger — and I’m learning a lot.

Right now, I’m at a coffee plant in Addis Ababa, where I was just treated to an unforgettable cup — surrounded by tons of beans. Join me in this clip for a fascinating peek at the local coffee industry and a quick lesson about development. Coffee may have originated in Ethiopia, but there’s still a big gap here between potential profit and actual profit.

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