Culture in the Simien Mountains

WFAV works in the Ethiopian Highlands in the far north of Ethiopia, primarily in the Simien Mountains and adjacent areas. We have built improved water sources through two municipalities in this mountainous region – inside and outside of the Simien Mountains National Park.

This mountain area is enormous and features high plateaus covered with alpine flora, sheer precipices that can tower 1500m high, and rocky peaks up to 4500m above sea level. In the wet season, it is lush, cool and misty but as the dry season sets in, the days are hot, the vegetation dries to a crisp and everything is coated in red dust.

It is home to many birds of prey, jackals, huge troops of gelada baboons, klipspringers, bushbacks and the walia ibex. It is also home to many families living in isolated villages where everyone has a garden, some goats or sheep, and some land on which to grow grains such as barley or tef. Their life is largely one of subsistence grazing with little produce left to sell or trade. As the elevation increases, life becomes more challenging due to the weather, freezing overnight temperatures, the