A New Side of Ethiopia

When I started this job with One Acre Fund, one of the first places I visited was Ethiopia, barely 2 weeks after arriving in Kenya (a sign of travel demands to come). Since then, I’ve visited 7 times, by far the most of any other place I’ve traveled. I’ve known our the counterparts at our partner organization there for almost 2 years, and their office is as much an office to me as the One Acre Fund office here in Kenya. Ethiopia really started to feel like a second home in general, with people I cared about, wonderful food, and incredibly interesting history. In all that time, though, I hadn’t managed to fit in any trips to see all the amazing places the country has to offer, from fantastically old historical and religious sites, to unique and expansive mountain ranges, and even a volcano. I finally managed to fix that this past April, made all the better by traveling it with Emily and being able to celebrate my 30^th birthday together in my second home.

Ethiopia has a lot to offer over a huge area, so with only 1 week we had to pick just region to visit. We decided on the northern circuit in Amhara region, where we split out time between historical sites in Gondar and Lalibela, and trekking in the Simien Mountains. A big money-saving tip someone gave us was to buy all our flights as a multi-city ticket on the Ethiopian Airlines website (international + domestic)- we probably saved 50% of the cost doing it this way.

Gondar

Gondar was one of the ancient capitals of the Ethiopian kingdoms, and is the closest big town to Debark, where you set out for Simiens hikes. Can’t speak to what Debark is like, but there are some things to see in Gondar and it’s only about 1.5 hour away, so it seemed like a more interesting place to stay. We stayed at Lodge du Chateau, which was decent but nothing too special apart from its proximity to the castle and the really nice included breakfasts. You might be able to find a better value elsewhere, everything’s pretty walkable there. Random note, if you're there over Easter like we were and are a light sleeper, you'll want some earplugs- the masses are loud and last through the night.

We ended up spending 3 nights in Gondar before and after the trek, but we probably could’ve cut it down to 2 nights. After we visited Fasil Ghebbi, the main castle attraction, and FourSisters Restaurant there wasn’t too much else to see. Fasil Ghebbi was really cool and definitely worth visiting for a couple hours- it’s open until 6pm. It’s a huge walled area containing all the former palaces of the emperors from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

(Fasil Ghebbi)

Simien Mountains

The Simiens are an impressive and extensive mountain range formed by volcanic activity, with amazing views that extend miles and miles into the distance. They’re also home to endemic wildlife like the Ethiopian wolf and the Gelada. You’re at altitude most of the hike, peaking around 4,400m, but otherwise the hiking is pretty accessible.

We spent some time debating how long of a hike to do in the Simiens- there’s anything from 2 nights to a week plus. We settled on 3 nights, which fit our schedule and seemed just long enough to make it to the 2^nd highest peak in Ethiopia. To get to the highest peak, Ras Dashen, you’d need around 10 days. It’s certainly doable on your own- you could bring your own food and gear and hire a scout at the national park office in Debark, but we decided to go with a tour group. We went with Dezy of Simien Mountains Trekking and Tours because of his high reviews on Trip Advisor, but there are plenty of others out there. While he doesn’t actually come on the hikes, Dezy coordinated all the people, gear and food and gave us an easy and enjoyable experience. We paid $266 per person for 4 days, including all food, which was delicious, and gear, which was good quality and kept us nice and warm. On that, definitely pack warm clothes (multiple layers, a heavy jacket if you’ve got one, hat and gloves) and rain gear- it gets cold up there after the sun sets.

We had some hazy views the first couple of days, but once we got up into the real heights the views were amazing, and we were able to see lots of Geladas, and even a couple Ethiopian wolves and Walia ibexes. We were tired and smelly by the 4^th day, but it was an awesome experience and definitely worth doing.

(Gelada)

(Simien landscapes)

Lalibela

We decided to end our trip in Lalibela and I’m very glad we did. It’s a smaller town than Gondar, but much more pleasant with lots of interesting things to do. The main attraction here is the historical and religious significance. In the 12^th century, the Ethiopian King Lalibela decided to make a second Jerusalem right there northern Ethiopian, as an easier pilgrimage alternative for Ethiopian Christians, as the trek to the real Jerusalem was long and dangerous. They built ten churches that represent sites and themes of Christian significance, and they are incredible. They are all rock-hewn churches, and most are monolithic, meaning they carved the things straight into solid rock. It’s difficult to comprehend the workmanship and planning needed to make them in present day, let alone 800 years ago, especially when you see the detail in the interiors.

There seem to be many great guides to choose from in Lalibela, but I highly recommend seeing the churches with Sefiw (sefiw60@yahoo.com, +251911913759). He was very knowledgeable, enjoyable to spend time with, and flexible. We split the visits over 2 half days, which I’m very glad we did; I could see it getting a bit tiring seeing all 10 churches in 1 day.

Since they were built, they’ve been used continuously as working churches. We were able to see a Sunday service while we were there, both at a number of the churches in town, and at a monastery slightly outside of town. We were glad we added that in because it was quite different. We also went with Sifew, so could negotiate a cheaper package price for everything.

We spent 3 nights in Lalibela. We spent the first night at a budget place, Alef Paradise Hotel, which was fine. Cheap price, but lots of mosquitos in the room and no net, so didn’t sleep well. We splurged on our last 2 nights for my birthday at the Maribela Hotel, which was great. All the rooms have a stunning balcony view of the sounding mountains, and there’s a really nice garden to relax in. Best hotel of the trip. We had my birthday dinner at Ben Abeba, which is definitely worth a visit for the bizarre architecture and beautiful views, even if the food is nothing special. Much better to get there early to enjoy the views before sunset. Two restaurants we did really enjoy were Kana and Seven Olives (great place to get a traditional fasting plate). Also, all the coffee ceremonies we had throughout the trip, but particularly in Lalibela, were a major highlight. 

(Coffee ceremony)

(2 of the rock-hewn churches)

Addis Ababa

We left Lalibela on the morning flight and reached Addis by lunchtime. We stayed at the Sidra Hotel, a good value since we negotiated them down to $60 a night. That evening we went on an awesome food tour around Addis with Go Addis Tours, a birthday gift from Emily and one of the highlights of the whole trip. We visited multiple excellent restaurants, eating delicious Ethiopian dishes like shiro and tibs (at Yilma- so good), and drank lots of Ethiopian beer (way more varieties than I knew). I learned a lot about Ethiopian food and some new restaurants- only wish I’d done it sooner! Addis is a cool city, and while we didn't have much time to explore it on this trip, here are some recommendations from other trips:

• Africa Jazz Village at Ghion Hotel
• Sishu for great burgers
• Tomoca Coffee for an excellent macchiato and some bags of beans to take home (check out the original on Wawel Street for the most character)
• National Museum of Ethiopia to see Lucy and learn about Ethiopian history
• Kategna Restaurant to try a variety of Ethiopian dishes

Moving to Kakamega - part 1

In March of this year, the entire One Acre Fund community picked up and moved to an entirely new city in Kenya. Our new home, Kakamega is not far - only about 1.5 hours away from Bungoma. However, it was still a major undertaking to relocate 5 separate offices, 100s of Kenyan head office staff, and 50 odd international head office staff. Not to mention our infrastructure team has been building the new office and many of our houses from scratch over the past 3 years. The move was driven by the location, more central for our future expansion, as well as the rent savings, since we own the land and buildings. Kakamega is a slightly bigger town, though Bungoma's been closing the gap over the past few years. Kakamega still has the distinct advantage of being more or less in a rainforest.

This post is a brief tour of our new office. The first and most noticeable improvement is its size: it's big enough to house the entire Kenya team under one roof. After 3 years working in just 1 of 5 offices in Bungoma, it's great to see how big the Kenya team really is and to interact with lots of new people in the hallways and canteen. And that's the next best thing about this place- we get free daily lunches of simple but tasty Kenyan food provided in a large canteen where it's easy to connect with people you may not interact with often through work. Third best thing about the office is how spacious, light and breezy it is. It was designed with an open floor plan and entire walls that can slide to let in the breeze or keep out the rain as needed. It's a unique building with some nice spaces, sorely needed functionality (like a big amphitheater / training room) and a beautiful setting. It seems like a solid permanent home for One Acre Fund Kenya over the long term, and it's been fun to have the chance to enjoy it.

(Reception)

(Training hall)

(Canteen)

(Sliding walls)

(My desk)