From Scraps to Seedlings in Ethiopia

Samson in the former garbage dump. Photo by Nicholas Parkinson.

Gardener Turns Garbage Dump into a Successful Garden and Supports his Family

By Nicholas Parkinson
Urban Agriculture in Ethiopia
USAID Urban Gardens Program Ethiopia
02 November 2011

Excerpt:

Sometimes when Samson Aberra is working in the garden, planting seedlings or replenishing his nursery, onlookers gather to watch him toil. What they don’t know is that Samson Aberra is not “toiling”—he’s barely working, he claims. In fact, he is doing what he loves: gardening.

Samson’s garden lies next to the main highway running through the Ethiopian highland town of Dessie, located in the northeast of the country. The garden forms a triangle between the main road and a contaminated stream that meanders through the city in its journey to the low lying plains below.

One year before, the same land was ankle deep in plastic bags and bottles, worn out shoes and dead animals. Samson wondered why the city would allow the eyesore, not to mention the waste of land.

Complete story here.