Diversifying Livelihoods

Water is a precious resource in Eritrea, rare and sold by vendors. Photo: Michaela Ledesma/Mercy Corps Photo: Michaela Ledesma

To begin, let me introduce Angesom Kalkai, our dedicated Water Program Manager since October 2003. Angesom made sure that we surveyed nearly every water hole within reach on our journey. In every village we stopped at, he was the first one out of the car, busy greeting old friends and making new contacts with the village administrators who play a major role in the success of any community-based project.

Angesom's English is not as quick as some other staff, so when he speaks, his words are doubly intentional. He is a frank and honest communicator, very down-to-business. Over the course of our voyage, I watched him enliven. This was his first trip out to this particular area in three months, and he was very excited by what he was seeing.

A healthy household

We intercepted Sa'ad Amosad as he approached the water point on his way to the main street. His son was already out distributing water. He took us back to his house - a new, cement-block, one-room structure with a door and two windows. The yard was swept clean and fenced in.

There were two sheep - one pregnant and one that had recently delivered a lamb. Tethered to a little post outside of a shelter built to shade the animals and hold feed was a 5 month-old healthy lamb. Overall, it was an impressive, healthy household. The husband and wife are visibly proud of their good fortune.

"I started vending in August, 2003. Eight months ago, I was able to purchase the livestock - one goat and two female sheep," Sa'ad explained. "As you can see, one has already lambed and the other is pregnant. We also were able to recently remodel the house - before our house was made of wood. Now we have sturdy cement walls and a tall, corrugated roof.

"Mostly, I appreciate the 'push' that Mercy Corps has provided us through this project. In this project, people can involve themselves, unlike a hand-out where you are nothing but a recipient. Now I am the proprietor of a small business. I have a livelihood that not only sustains my family, but betters our circumstances. Thank you!"

A reason to hold their heads high

Hamed Arafa Comer is young, with an earnest countenance. We spy him on the road headed towards the water hole in the rocky, desert village of Metkel-Abiet. His barrel and cart are made in the same fashion as the Mercy Corps materials, although the barrel was dented and scarred rusty. His donkey was smallish, and a little ragged around the edges.

"I have been operating just two months. I make 5 trips in a day and sell the entire contents of the cart for 17 Nakfa in order to win customers accustomed to buying from the older vendors," Hamed said. "Still, I don't get to deliver to the school because that territory belongs to the older vendors. One day soon, I hope to be part of the cooperative, even for a fee. It is powerful - and it would provide me access to funds for improving my materials."

As our first day on the road wound down, I asked Angesom what in particular had made an impression on him. He said that the two biggest surprises had been Sa'ad's newest lamb in Gahtelay and Hamed, the new vendor in Metkel-Abiet. For Angesom, the lamb was living proof that the water vendor project had indeed enabled people to diversify their livelihoods for the long-term: a fact reconfirmed by Hamed's recent decision to begin distributing water to his community and his interest in joining the water sellers' cooperative.

As I left, Angesom was back out in the field to help oversee construction of the new wells being built with village labor and Mercy Corps materials. After the wells are completed, Angesom looks forward to helping the newest community-elected water vendors find their feet, a steady income and a reason to hold their heads high.