NewsSpanish Cooperation comes to Ethiopia
Visit in Ethiopia affirms Spanish Cooperation’s resolve to transforming lives with bamboo.
With support from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), INBAR has been implementing a pilot project since 2023 on building the circular economy and climate change resilience through bamboo supply chain development in Ethiopia. The project is located in the southern region of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa. Pablo Gan Quesada, Technical Advisor for Central and Eastern Africa, Mario Fanjul, Head of the Spanish Cooperation Office in Ethiopia, and Carmela Marquina De Saracho, Junior Officer, Spanish Cooperation Office in Ethiopia, visited the project sites on 10 June 2024 in Arbaminch, Ethiopia.
During the visit, the AECID officials interacted with project beneficiaries and the implementation team. The project is working closely with the Ethiopian Regional Forestry Development and Arbaminch University, having already established a bamboo nursery to produce quality planting material for the lakeshore as well as a catchment bamboo plantation for the restoration of Lake Chamo and Lake Abaya in the southern region of Ethiopia. Bamboo agroforestry is also being utilized to involve the lakeshore community in the management of the bamboo plantation, strengthening livelihoods and boosting household incomes. The project also supports the establishment and growing of bamboo supply chains and enterprise development, including the sustainable management of bamboo farms.
Fanjul mentioned that the project is progressing well in terms of restoration, building partnerships, creating employment especially for women and youth, and in general contributing to the development of a circular economy, including the fulfilment of the Spanish Cooperation Plan in Ethiopia. As a trusted partner of AECID, INBAR is doing commendable work in promoting bamboo development in Latin American countries, and further cooperation and support will be extended in Ethiopia in the future for scaling up the current initiative.
