Model Sidama house with livestock and enset garden or weesete gate . 

Contexts in source publication

Context 1

... loss. Common notions of enset as a drought-resistant crop warrant recasting in a more nuanced empirical framework. Sidama are a Cushitic-speaking people inhabiting areas between the Rift Valley lakes of Hawassa and Abaya (Hamer 1987) (Figure 1). Most Sidama reside in the SNNPRS, the most rural of nine states in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Figure 1). SNNPRS contains 18 zones and special districts with boundaries demarcated along ethnic lines; hence, most Sidama live in Sidama Zone (Aalen 2011; CSAE 2013). Census figures estimate three million Sidama, the fifth largest ethnic group in Ethiopia (CSAE 2013) among more than 80 distinct ethnicities (Levine 2000). Additional cultural information on Sidamaland can be found in Hamer (1987), Quinlan et al. (2014) and Quinlan et al. (n.d.). The rural Sidama are mostly subsistence agropastoralists (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007; CSAE 2013; Hamer 1987). Staple crops are enset and maize, and less commonly wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.). Enset, which is the main and preferred food, provides more calories per unit of area than do most cereals (e.g., maize) and is drought resistant; these are important characteristics given increases in population density and the frequency of droughts (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007). Cash crops include coffee ( Coffea arabica L.) and ch’at ( khat , Catha edulis Forssk. ex Endl.), a perennial bush chewed as a stimulant. Crops vary across elevation, rainfall, and soil differences. Cattle play an important role in Sidama subsistence and risk-coping strategies (Caudell et al. 2015; Hamer 1987). Sidama raise zebu cattle, Bos indicus Linnaeus, primarily for dairy and fertilizer. Beef consumption is rare and is limited to ceremonies (e.g., marriage, funeral) or the natural death of the animal. Sidama people recognize a symbiotic relationship between cattle and enset. Enset provides fodder for cattle, especially in times of drought when other grasses and grains are not available, and, in turn, cattle provide fertilizer for the enset. Sidama also keep smallstock and chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus Linnaeus) for consumption and sale (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007). In general, Sidama favor using the profits from the sale of crops and wage-labor to purchase livestock and for livestock care (Yilma 2001). Maize is firmly established in much of Africa, and smallholder cultivation is well documented (McCann 2001). Enset is less familiar. Ethiopian farmers fall in two broad categories: ‘‘plow cultures’’ of cereal grains—primarily teff, but also maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, and millet—and ‘‘hoe cultures’’ growing enset and root crops—taro, sweet potatoes, and yams (Murdock 1959; Steward 1967; Westphal and Westphal-Stevels 1975). Among hoe cultures, enset is the most important food by far (Murdock 1959). The ‘‘enset complex’’ (Shack 1963:72) feeds a dense rural population across southwest Ethiopia (e.g., Bezuneh 1971; Bezuneh and Feleke 1966; Brandt et al. 1997; Rahmato 1995; Shack 1963) of ten to 15 million people (Brandt et al. 1997; Shank and Ertiro 1996). In all but the highest altitudes, where enset thrives best (Pijls et al. 1995), people grow it along with other roots or cereals (Brandt et al. 1997). Sidama generally grow enset at elevations between 1200-3100 meters. Enset tolerates cool temperatures but not freezing, which causes frost damage. Above 3000 meters growth is stunted. Areas below 1500 meters are often too dry for enset (Brandt et al. 1997). Historically, the Sidama area had seasonal bimodal rainfall—an eight- to nine-month rainy season from March to November with a midland annual rainfall between 1300 and 2000 mm (Yilma 2001). The pasture grass in the highlands is primarily Andropogon abyssinicus R.Br. ex Fresen., which highlanders say is good for cattle (Smeds 1955). The dense rural population in the Sidama Zone limits grazing land. Hence, enset is important livestock fodder (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007; Brandt et al. 1997). Livestock eat parts of the enset plants that humans do not eat (leaves and outer stems), which contain the most protein (Yilma 2001). Enset and cattle dominate Sidama subsistence models, with an important place in Sidama cultural values (Hamer 1987). Sidama call an enset garden weesete gate or gate . Gate range from .25 to 1.5 hectares (Tesfaye 2008). Gardens contain plants of various ages and sizes as enset takes years to mature. The Sidama language has about ten terms referring to enset age-stages (Quinlan et al. 2014; Tesfaye 2008). Large plants are transplanted closest to the house. Sidama people propagate enset by vegetative cloning, speeding up the naturally very long maturation process. Enset is never propagated by seed as far as we know. A Sidama dwelling, or mine , is a combination house and barn at the edge of the enset garden. It is divided into a salon with a hearth, bedroom(s), and stalls for cattle and goats, all separated by bamboo walls or interior fences (see Figure 2). Sidama build mine on a slight slope with the animal stalls on the downhill side of the house. Floors have small trenches excavated into them, channeling urine outside into the gate (Figure 2). Women and children gather manure from the mine, yard, and pasture to spread on their gardens. Sidama harvest enset before or while the plant is flowering. The time from planting to flowering depends on the breed, soil nutrients, and rain. Flowering time ranges from four to ten years. Processing, fermentation, and storage can take as much as three additional years (Quinlan et al. 2014). Principles of collaborative ethnography (Lassiter 2005) guided our efforts. Lassiter’s (2005) collaborative approach developed for public anthropology provides ethical and methodological principles useful for ethnobiology. Our aim was to level power differentials between Sidama people and researchers by facilitating the development of colleagues from southwestern Ethiopia. Sidama and Koore anthropologists (Dira, Sooge, and Assoma) are senior personnel, Hawassa University faculty, and coauthors of this report. Assoma and Dira are also PhD candidates in anthropology at Washington State University. Data from this study have been freely disseminated to researchers at Hawassa University through an integrated data analysis workshop. There are empirical benefits to this collaboration. The team has advanced skills including field methods, statistical analysis, and native language pro- ficiency. Accuracy of representations is enhanced through a dialectical process among researchers fluent in modes of anthropology and social science. Collaboration makes claims of ‘‘time in the field’’—a hallmark of quality ethnography—meaningless: half of the senior personnel are native to Sidama and nearby ‘‘enset culture.’’ Washington State University Human Subjects Research Compliance Office, Sidama Zone Administration, and District ( Woreda) Authorities in Arbegona, Boricha, Lokka Abaya and Hawassa Zuria approved this research. Participants were given a thorough description of the project activities and data use. Verbal informed consent was obtained and all participants were paid 50 Ethiopian birr ( , $3.00 US). Qualitative data were collected using open-ended ethnographic interviews with key informants and focus groups in four districts of the Sidama Zone. We conducted interviews with individuals and/or groups concerning personal and environmental histories, agricultural practices, inheritance, ethnic and interpersonal conflict, social support, family health, gender relations, intra-community cooperation, etc. All interviews were conducted in Sidama by native speakers. Interviews were translated into English for the benefit of non-Sidama speaking project personnel (Quinlan et al. n.d.). Quantitative data were collected by oral self-report questionnaires concerning household demography, health, and production. The instrument included over 200 items yielding a range of data for comparison with other East African social and economic studies. The interviewers were five Sidama research assistants, four of whom had university degrees, and three of whom had prior survey research experience. The research assistants received the instrument in English and Amharic, then the research assistants and authors developed appropriate Sidama translations together. The authors field-tested the Sidama language instrument. Then, the assistants received one week of training in instrument administration. During the first week of data collection, assistants worked in teams of two supervised by senior personnel to ensure uniformity in instrument administration. These surveys took 30 to 90 minutes to complete. We created a judgment sample of four Sidama districts ( woreda ) representing a range of ecological and economic variation in the Sidama Zone (detailed below). Each Sidama assistant was randomly assigned a different kebele (neighborhood), within which they obtained a convenience sample. The assistants recruited participants as they encountered adults while walking main neighborhood footpaths. We set a target sample size of 100 for each district. When we reached that target we moved on to the next woreda . This sampling method was chosen to facilitate rapid pilot data collection. Random sampling would have dramatically increased research time and expense. We were unable to reach the target sample in Lokka Abaya. Heightened ethnic tension between Sidama and neighboring Wolayta people posed an unacceptable risk for the research team, and we terminated data collection after interviewing 72 Lokka Abaya farmers. Given five data collectors and randomly assigned neighborhoods, we do not believe our sampling method introduced systematic bias. We do not claim that our analyses represent precise population estimates; however, these data are suitable for examining effects on production, risk, and resilience in the Sidama Zone. These analyses offer a foundation and guide for ...

Context 2

... lakes of Hawassa and Abaya (Hamer 1987) (Figure 1). Most Sidama reside in the SNNPRS, the most rural of nine states in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Figure 1). SNNPRS contains 18 zones and special districts with boundaries demarcated along ethnic lines; hence, most Sidama live in Sidama Zone (Aalen 2011; CSAE 2013). Census figures estimate three million Sidama, the fifth largest ethnic group in Ethiopia (CSAE 2013) among more than 80 distinct ethnicities (Levine 2000). Additional cultural information on Sidamaland can be found in Hamer (1987), Quinlan et al. (2014) and Quinlan et al. (n.d.). The rural Sidama are mostly subsistence agropastoralists (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007; CSAE 2013; Hamer 1987). Staple crops are enset and maize, and less commonly wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.). Enset, which is the main and preferred food, provides more calories per unit of area than do most cereals (e.g., maize) and is drought resistant; these are important characteristics given increases in population density and the frequency of droughts (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007). Cash crops include coffee ( Coffea arabica L.) and ch’at ( khat , Catha edulis Forssk. ex Endl.), a perennial bush chewed as a stimulant. Crops vary across elevation, rainfall, and soil differences. Cattle play an important role in Sidama subsistence and risk-coping strategies (Caudell et al. 2015; Hamer 1987). Sidama raise zebu cattle, Bos indicus Linnaeus, primarily for dairy and fertilizer. Beef consumption is rare and is limited to ceremonies (e.g., marriage, funeral) or the natural death of the animal. Sidama people recognize a symbiotic relationship between cattle and enset. Enset provides fodder for cattle, especially in times of drought when other grasses and grains are not available, and, in turn, cattle provide fertilizer for the enset. Sidama also keep smallstock and chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus Linnaeus) for consumption and sale (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007). In general, Sidama favor using the profits from the sale of crops and wage-labor to purchase livestock and for livestock care (Yilma 2001). Maize is firmly established in much of Africa, and smallholder cultivation is well documented (McCann 2001). Enset is less familiar. Ethiopian farmers fall in two broad categories: ‘‘plow cultures’’ of cereal grains—primarily teff, but also maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, and millet—and ‘‘hoe cultures’’ growing enset and root crops—taro, sweet potatoes, and yams (Murdock 1959; Steward 1967; Westphal and Westphal-Stevels 1975). Among hoe cultures, enset is the most important food by far (Murdock 1959). The ‘‘enset complex’’ (Shack 1963:72) feeds a dense rural population across southwest Ethiopia (e.g., Bezuneh 1971; Bezuneh and Feleke 1966; Brandt et al. 1997; Rahmato 1995; Shack 1963) of ten to 15 million people (Brandt et al. 1997; Shank and Ertiro 1996). In all but the highest altitudes, where enset thrives best (Pijls et al. 1995), people grow it along with other roots or cereals (Brandt et al. 1997). Sidama generally grow enset at elevations between 1200-3100 meters. Enset tolerates cool temperatures but not freezing, which causes frost damage. Above 3000 meters growth is stunted. Areas below 1500 meters are often too dry for enset (Brandt et al. 1997). Historically, the Sidama area had seasonal bimodal rainfall—an eight- to nine-month rainy season from March to November with a midland annual rainfall between 1300 and 2000 mm (Yilma 2001). The pasture grass in the highlands is primarily Andropogon abyssinicus R.Br. ex Fresen., which highlanders say is good for cattle (Smeds 1955). The dense rural population in the Sidama Zone limits grazing land. Hence, enset is important livestock fodder (Asfaw and A ̊ gren 2007; Brandt et al. 1997). Livestock eat parts of the enset plants that humans do not eat (leaves and outer stems), which contain the most protein (Yilma 2001). Enset and cattle dominate Sidama subsistence models, with an important place in Sidama cultural values (Hamer 1987). Sidama call an enset garden weesete gate or gate . Gate range from .25 to 1.5 hectares (Tesfaye 2008). Gardens contain plants of various ages and sizes as enset takes years to mature. The Sidama language has about ten terms referring to enset age-stages (Quinlan et al. 2014; Tesfaye 2008). Large plants are transplanted closest to the house. Sidama people propagate enset by vegetative cloning, speeding up the naturally very long maturation process. Enset is never propagated by seed as far as we know. A Sidama dwelling, or mine , is a combination house and barn at the edge of the enset garden. It is divided into a salon with a hearth, bedroom(s), and stalls for cattle and goats, all separated by bamboo walls or interior fences (see Figure 2). Sidama build mine on a slight slope with the animal stalls on the downhill side of the house. Floors have small trenches excavated into them, channeling urine outside into the gate (Figure 2). Women and children gather manure from the mine, yard, and pasture to spread on their gardens. Sidama harvest enset before or while the plant is flowering. The time from planting to flowering depends on the breed, soil nutrients, and rain. Flowering time ranges from four to ten years. Processing, fermentation, and storage can take as much as three additional years (Quinlan et al. 2014). Principles of collaborative ethnography (Lassiter 2005) guided our efforts. Lassiter’s (2005) collaborative approach developed for public anthropology provides ethical and methodological principles useful for ethnobiology. Our aim was to level power differentials between Sidama people and researchers by facilitating the development of colleagues from southwestern Ethiopia. Sidama and Koore anthropologists (Dira, Sooge, and Assoma) are senior personnel, Hawassa University faculty, and coauthors of this report. Assoma and Dira are also PhD candidates in anthropology at Washington State University. Data from this study have been freely disseminated to researchers at Hawassa University through an integrated data analysis workshop. There are empirical benefits to this collaboration. The team has advanced skills including field methods, statistical analysis, and native language pro- ficiency. Accuracy of representations is enhanced through a dialectical process among researchers fluent in modes of anthropology and social science. Collaboration makes claims of ‘‘time in the field’’—a hallmark of quality ethnography—meaningless: half of the senior personnel are native to Sidama and nearby ‘‘enset culture.’’ Washington State University Human Subjects Research Compliance Office, Sidama Zone Administration, and District ( Woreda) Authorities in Arbegona, Boricha, Lokka Abaya and Hawassa Zuria approved this research. Participants were given a thorough description of the project activities and data use. Verbal informed consent was obtained and all participants were paid 50 Ethiopian birr ( , $3.00 US). Qualitative data were collected using open-ended ethnographic interviews with key informants and focus groups in four districts of the Sidama Zone. We conducted interviews with individuals and/or groups concerning personal and environmental histories, agricultural practices, inheritance, ethnic and interpersonal conflict, social support, family health, gender relations, intra-community cooperation, etc. All interviews were conducted in Sidama by native speakers. Interviews were translated into English for the benefit of non-Sidama speaking project personnel (Quinlan et al. n.d.). Quantitative data were collected by oral self-report questionnaires concerning household demography, health, and production. The instrument included over 200 items yielding a range of data for comparison with other East African social and economic studies. The interviewers were five Sidama research assistants, four of whom had university degrees, and three of whom had prior survey research experience. The research assistants received the instrument in English and Amharic, then the research assistants and authors developed appropriate Sidama translations together. The authors field-tested the Sidama language instrument. Then, the assistants received one week of training in instrument administration. During the first week of data collection, assistants worked in teams of two supervised by senior personnel to ensure uniformity in instrument administration. These surveys took 30 to 90 minutes to complete. We created a judgment sample of four Sidama districts ( woreda ) representing a range of ecological and economic variation in the Sidama Zone (detailed below). Each Sidama assistant was randomly assigned a different kebele (neighborhood), within which they obtained a convenience sample. The assistants recruited participants as they encountered adults while walking main neighborhood footpaths. We set a target sample size of 100 for each district. When we reached that target we moved on to the next woreda . This sampling method was chosen to facilitate rapid pilot data collection. Random sampling would have dramatically increased research time and expense. We were unable to reach the target sample in Lokka Abaya. Heightened ethnic tension between Sidama and neighboring Wolayta people posed an unacceptable risk for the research team, and we terminated data collection after interviewing 72 Lokka Abaya farmers. Given five data collectors and randomly assigned neighborhoods, we do not believe our sampling method introduced systematic bias. We do not claim that our analyses represent precise population estimates; however, these data are suitable for examining effects on production, risk, and resilience in the Sidama Zone. These analyses offer a foundation and guide for future research. Dependent variables include (1) self-reported yields (kg) produced from enset and maize farms; (2) estimated energy (kcal produced per person per day), calculated from the total ...