Honey

If you enjoy honey and are visiting the Agamé region you should know that there is often a delectable array of flavours available at local markets.   

White honey from the Agamé region.

One of the most sought after local varieties is a white honey with a complex palate and a lovely granular texture.   I personally find that there is enough flavour and delicate sweetness in the white honey that just a small amount will leave me feeling satisfied.   My grandma always serves white honey with fresh warm bread.   

There are high quality, organic, beautifully golden honeys also to be found all around the region.   Sometimes there is a black honey available that comes from the Axum area, is actually made in the ground by ants, not bees, and is said to have many medicinal benefits.   

The floral biodiversity in the province of Tigray yields a wide variety of flavours and honey is so popular in the Agamé region I've found that most of my friends here have a refined palate.   I encourage you to ask local residents for reviews and personal recommendations!  
  

White honey derives its unique flavor and color from a variety of indigenous plants growing in the region, including the prickly pear (cactus fruit), euphorbia, becium grandiflorum and a local sage plant.

  

distinctive white honey is made from a local blossom of the sage plant family, known as labiate, which gives it its unusual colour. The white honey of Tigray is the most praised in the country and is considered a delicacy - See more at: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sector-reports/food-and-beverage/honey-ethiopias-liquid-gold/#sthash.xtT0HtSB.dpuf

distinctive white honey is made from a local blossom of the sage plant family, known as labiate, which gives it its unusual colour. The white honey of Tigray is the most praised in the country and is considered a delicacy - See more at: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sector-reports/food-and-beverage/honey-ethiopias-liquid-gold/#sthash.xtT0HtSB.dpuf

The market in Adigrat regularly has merchants selling honey and occasionally the beekeepers themselves are around at the market.   The honey is often stored in large barrels and smaller containers aren't always readily available so bring your own if you can.   White honey from the Adigrat area was also recently available at my local supermarket in Addis Ababa.

Honey has topical antibacterial elements and "... in general, the darker the honey is the better its antibacterial and antioxidant power."- Web MD

Ethiopia is the largest honey producer on the continent of Africa and is amongst the top ten or so honey producing countries in the world.   I do not have the latest statistics on hand but I do know that a very high percentage of the honey produced in-country is also actually consumed locally, mostly through honey wine.   I wrote about honey wine (aka tej or mes) in a previous post.

It is used in cooking but also to produce Tej, the national drink made from fermented honey - See more at: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sector-reports/food-and-beverage/honey-ethiopias-liquid-gold/#sthash.xtT0HtSB.dpuf

It is used in cooking but also to produce Tej, the national drink made from fermented honey - See more at: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sector-reports/food-and-beverage/honey-ethiopias-liquid-gold/#sthash.xtT0HtSB.dpufThere seems to be a rise of public understanding of health benefits of honey seem to Ethiopia leads in African countries producing honey and is number eight in the world with 39,000 tonnes of honey per year

Honey bee on Field Scabious

Beekeeping is an ancient practice in Ethiopia dating back to between 3000 and 3500 B.C.    Aside from the Agamé region and the province of Tigray, the Oromia Region and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) are also major beeswax and honey production regions in Ethiopia.

Bee hives in southern Ethiopia

Did you know...
 
- That as long as honey is stored correctly it will never go bad?  Archeologists excavating ancient Egyptian tombs often find pots of honey, which are thousands of years old and are still preserved. 

- That honey bees are social insects.   I will leave you with this description of the sophisticated communication between worker bees via the Waggle Dance:  

If the nectar is more than 100 metres from the hive, the returning worker does the waggle dance. This gives the other workers the direction and distance (flying time) to the food source.   First she dances in a straight line rapidly wagging her tail.   Then she turns and walks around a half circle, and dances back along the same straight line.   Then she turns in the other direction and walks around the other half of the circle, and returns once more to her straight line.   As she does this she wags her tail.   The number of times the dance is repeated per minute tells how far the food is from the hive.   A fast dance means the food is close to the hive, a slow dance means it is further away.

The straight line of the dance shows the direction to the nectar in relation to the sun. On the vertical honeycomb, a dance done straight up means fly away from the sun.   If the dancer moves on a line to the left of straight up, that means, "Go to the entrance of the hive, look at the sun, and fly to the left".   When the nectar is all gone, the returning workers do not dance, so that no more workers will go to that location.  (Ontario Beekeepers Association)

Figure 2: Honey Bee on Field Scabious, linsepatron, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Figure 3: Bee hives in southern Ethiopia, Bernard Gagnon, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Investment Opportunity in Mekelle, Regional State of Tigray, Ethiopia Beekeeping and Honey Processing:  http://mci.ei.columbia.edu/files/2013/10/Mekelle-Beekeeping-Honey-Processing-Investment-Profile.pdf 

Volunteer in Adigrat, Ethiopia - 2014

There are some really lovely short and long term 2014  volunteer  opportunities in Adigrat.  

The Agamé region of Ethiopia is one of the oldest continuously occupied regions in the world.   It is a region saturated with a distinct culture and history.   The mountains are breathtaking, the air is fresh and clean.   In Adigrat the mountains help create a beautiful living environment, with temperate weather and clear blue skies.   And this entire list of volunteer opportunities was handed to me by full time residents of the region.   You are welcome. 

A large new university has been built in Adigrat recently so there are opportunities to volunteer with the faculty and students.   There are centres supporting the youth in town, sports and tech opportunities, city admin opportunities.   The length of a stay needed in order to volunteer varies from a day or two to a couple of months but all opportunities are negotiable.   Just express an interest and we can find an opportunity that works for everyone.  Check it all out below.

Volunteer List for 2014:

English Teachers - Adigrat's primary and secondary school

Conversational English Teachers - University students

Community Exchange Sessions - Experience sharing, talk about the country or region you live in, your culture, general life skills,  the challenges youth face in your community and how they are addressed, how to build confidence and be assertive etc.

Research work and research collaboration with any of the 30 departments at Adigrat University.  There is an expressed interest in research in sociology, psychology, business management and health as well as Adigrat's regional culture and some important local historical sites.  If you are looking for a region to conduct graduate work in the Agamé region may be a great place for it. 

Librarians - Help the Adigrat University Library digitize, re-arrange, code and register books.   A bunch of books have been donated and they want to make them as accessible to students as they can.   Facilitating training on library management would also be helpful.

Adigrat City Administration - Help in different sectors like the women's affairs office, social affairs office, finance office, youth and sports office, municipality, health office and others.  Assistance in organizing data in soft copy and conducting research and observation.


There is also a specific request for programs and training on:  

Campus Crime-Victim Prevention - encompassing policy strategies, techniques, options and prevention.   Courses and sessions for university students that teach self defense and focus on mental and physical preparedness

Information Sessions - for female university students only on health, tips for safety on campus and safe sex. 

Sport Activities (Athletics, soccer, tennis and volleyball....) - Arranging games, teams, training sessions or even arranging to bring your team to play against an Adigrat team.

Information and Communications Technology - Help ICT expansion and provide training on different information technology skills such as html coding, how to build a website, how to troubleshoot and fix different common tech problems, special training on software (such as Peach Tree/Sage 50 accounting for example) and general internet training.

Accommodation

There are several simple clean hotels in Adigrat that range in price from around $5 USD to $20 a night.   The University also has a client hotel called the Tesfay Agamé Hotel which is located near the University.   I have not personally visited it but have been told that it is a good, safe, clean, basic hotel.   Volunteers pay 100 Birr ($5 USD) per night at Tesfay Agamé Hotel. 

Food

While it is possible to get by spending around $5 USD a day on food in Adigrat, I would suggest budgeting $10 because it will leave you with many more food options. 

Getting there

The University of Adigrat can facilitate transportation from Makale Airport to Adigrat and vice versa.   There are also public transportation options from Makale to Adigrat. 
  
By the way, Adigrat is half way between Makale and Aksum.   If you plan to explore other regions of Ethiopia, Adigrat is a great place to volunteer and launch or end your journey. 


View Larger Map

A few of the bigger sites available to you from Adigrat:

• Aksum, site of the seat of the Aksumite empire, obelisks, tombs, and church where the orthodox believe the Ark of Covenant is guarded  (flying out of Aksum to continue your tour of the country with visits to Lalibela, Gondar etc is very convenient)
• Yeha ruins of a temple built 2,600 years ago
• Negash site of the earliest Muslim settlement in Africa
• Danakil Depression and desert where you can find the only below-sea-level volcano, stunning salt flats, mineral springs, bubbling sulfur pits, lava lakes and acid salt ponds.

Having said all that, there are many interesting sites in the Agamé region itself that are so worth while exploring.   They deserve their own post.   I'll get to writing about them from a traveler's perspective at some point.   For the moment, suffice it to say that if you're an adventurous spirit and would like to visit places that are still considered globally to be a bit off the beaten path, this region is a place for you. 

If you have any questions about these volunteer opportunities, or about making arrangements to stay in Adigrat or tour the region please feel free to email me at: hodgesjoanne@hotmail.com.    

Also good to note: Adigrat University will take full responsibility for your stay in Adigrat and give an official voluntary service certificate for every participant. 

Additional Reading:

Blog post about a recent volunteer experience in Adigrat: http://katemillner.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/13-months-of-sunshine/ 


Update Nov 2014:   The child day care centre previously on this list has decided to not have a volunteer program so it has been removed.   I will collect and distribute a fully updated list of volunteer opportunities in 2015.  

Cactus Fruit aka Beles or Prickly Pear

Reportedly helpful in treating diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and hangovers. Cactus fruit is also touted for its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.

This is the beautiful, delicious cactus fruit, known in Tigray as beles (pron. bell-less).  

Also high in fiber, antioxidants and carotenoids.

While filming in the Agamé region I have found that there is nothing more refreshing when spending the heat of the day lugging gear around than taking a break and enjoying a fresh ripe beles.   It is sweet and light and juicy and fresh.   And portable!   
  

Desertification and water scarcity are agricultural challenges throughout the region but cactus fruit is versatile, hearty and it thrives in both the rocky soils of north east Tigray and the vertisols of the lowlands.   The dominant variety in the local market has a yellow pulp and peel.

In 2006 Jacobo & Tegegne found that in Tigray "an estimate of 105.26 metric tons (of cactus fruit) are consumed daily from June to August in the three most important urban centers, a volume higher than orange and banana."  

 Remarkable  numbers considering that cactus fruit was used exclusively as  livestock fodder  for many years.   In the last decade it has become increasingly fashionable to snack on.   Restaurants and stores have started creating and selling different  cactus based products  like:  cactus fruit juice, cactus fruit marmalade and even cactus fruit salad.

Harvesting cactus fruit on some of Mama Buzu's property in Adigrat

When I was just starting  Good Evidence  I visited different community based organizations in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, filming with some and chatting with others, trying to determine whether an organization like Good Evidence and the work that it could do would be of any value.   One non-profit I filmed with (but which I unfortunately was not able to put a video together about because of audio problems) is the REMARKABLE community based organization known as Mums for Mums.   Based out of Makale, they're engaged in some innovative, inspiring community led work and you can read more about them here.   If you are in the area, I suggest popping by to see all that they do!

It was a few years ago that I visited Mums for Mums and I have fallen out of contact with the crew there, but they used to have a public awareness nutritional program through which they spread word about the high nutritional value of cactus fruit.   They also provided  facilities  for participants to  experiment  with different cactus recipes and they published a beautiful little cactus recipe book, available to the public for a small donation.   If you like cactus fruit, it is worth the donation!  

Here is a sample recipe from their booklet:

Cactus Fruit Juice Recipe

In Tigray and in the Agamé region there are seasons when there are  lots  of tasty fruits available.   There are mangoes and papaya.  Oranges and bananas are widely available.   In the highlands there are apples, apricots, almonds and plum trees that have been successfully planted.

Agamé, the land of plentiful fruit!