All language subtitles for Rick Steves Europe Collection 1 07of12 Ethiopia A Development Story 1080p

-Salam. I'm Rick Steves,
back with more great travels.

This time we're venturing beyond
Europe all the way to Africa

for something
a little different.

We're exploring Ethiopia, and
with Ethiopia as our classroom,

we're learning
about extreme poverty

and the progress being made
to overcome hunger.

Thanks for joining us.

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Ethiopia has endured drought,
famine, and lots of conflict,

but today, after years
of steady development,

it's emerging as a model
for the future of Africa.

Rather than traditional
sightseeing, in Ethiopia,

we'll delve into the dynamics
of a thriving

and growing country
of 100 million.

We'll learn about the importance
of water, new techniques

for smart agriculture, and how
good nutrition, education,

and empowering women
are fundamental to development.

We'll check in on new technology
that amps up development

and see how Ethiopia
is joining the global economy.

And we'll do it in a way
to better understand

how development
is working across the globe.

About a five-hour flight south
of Rome, Ethiopia,--

roughly the size of Italy --

is the leading country
in the Horn of Africa.

We'll start in the capital,
Addis Ababa,

fly to Axum to explore
the Tigray Region,

and then fly to Hawassa
to check out life

in the Southern Territories.

Ethiopia is proud to be
a country

that was never
a European colony.

Along with busy cities, it also
has a rich and ancient heritage.

It's a country
of many ethnic groups,

and vivid contrasts,

some of the oldest
Christian churches anywhere,

a world-renowned
coffee tradition,

and dramatic natural beauty.

While Ethiopia
has long struggled

with poverty and famine,
it's making great strides.

And today, countries like
Ethiopia are inspiring hope

in the developing world
with steady gains.

Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa,

is a city
of over 3 million people.

It has a lot of energy:
high-rises,

[ Horn blaring ]

...efficient mass transit,

and the headquarters
of the African Union.

And Addis Ababa also has
its chaotic market scenes

and teeming slums.

Big cities like Addis
are a seductive draw

to young people
from the countryside.

For a poor rural person,
such a high-energy city --

with an enticing consumer
society and office towers

that seem to promise
job opportunities --

has a strong appeal.

It's a global trend:

The allure of the big city
depopulates the countryside

and fills the barrios.

Neighborhoods like this
are crowded with people

who came to the big city
dreaming of solid employment

only to find themselves
mired in urban poverty.

Ravines, considered
uninhabitable

by the local government,

become shanty towns crowded
with these new arrivals.

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A great thing about travel
in the developing world

is just getting swallowed up
in the thriving markets.

Wandering the streets and back
lanes with so much commerce

spilling out every which way
is a barrage on the senses.

Ethiopia is a microcosm
of the developing world.

Along with massive cities --
and smaller cities --

there's lots of rural life,
much of it off the grid.

Driving into
Ethiopia's countryside,

we're reminded that roughly
half of the world's population

is subsistence farmers --

that most of the world's hungry
are rural people,

and their reality is harsh.

In the north is Tigray,

a reminder that the country
is actually a collection

of proud tribal regions.

Because
national political borders

rarely fit long-established
tribal borders cleanly

is one reason Africa is
so wracked with conflict

and hard to govern peacefully.

Tigray is deeply scarred,
with a heritage of warfare.

A regional capital of Tigray
is the historic town of Axum.

It's a city of about 70,000,
with a crisp climate

due to its high altitude
of 7,000 feet.

Getting around
is fun in its noisy,

three-wheeled tuk-tuks.

This complex of toppled
ancient columns

filling the field
like a graveyard.

is a reminder
that today's civilization

is just the latest in thousands
of years of societies.

Axum is the legendary home
of the Queen of Sheba.

And this mystical holy center

claims to hold
the Ark of the Covenant.

As they never
let anybody see it,

we can't know for sure.

But one thing is for sure:

one of the earliest
Christian communities

anywhere, dating back
to the 2nd century,

was centered here.

Ethiopia's fabled stone churches
of Lalibela recall those days.

And in Axum, the cathedral --
while modern and humble --

also evokes a long tradition.

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This camel caravan, trekking
all the way

to the market in Khartoum
in the Sudan, is a reminder

that this has long been
a crossroads of trade.

To round out our visit,

we home base in the south
of the country in Hawassa.

This jumbled and chaotic
commercial center

of a region
called the Southern Provinces

offers a sense of the pent-up
energy of this society.

Like in other cities,

the commerce
spills out into the streets,

and the streets themselves

offer a fascinating parade
of traffic --

busy three-wheeled taxis,

jam-packed city buses,
and horse-drawn carts,

often commanded by young boys
aspiring to be

Ben-Hur charioteers.

A great tip for travel --

especially in a country
like Ethiopia --

is that if you stay on the paved
roads and main highways,

(of which there are
only a few here),

you'll come home
with a kind of "road bias."

So, to really get
to the core of Ethiopia,

we venture beyond
the paved roads

to remote villages off the grid

and essentially shut out
of the global economy.

Most of the people here
are living in extreme poverty.

Extreme poverty
is difficult to witness.

Living on less than $2

a day looks about
the same around the world:

People live on a dirt floor --
no electricity,

no running water.

If they're fortunate enough
to own animals,

they live together.

With an open fire
on the floor and no chimney,

their homes are dark
and filled with smoke.

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Work is done by hand.

They eat one or two plates
of a starchy staple a day --

not enough for their children
to grow healthy.

There's likely little education,

job skills, or understanding
of good hygiene.

The people in this family

will probably never be seen
by a doctor.

One unanticipated crisis --
a storm, an accident,

a sick parent --
and these children go hungry.

Hundreds of millions of people
like these struggle daily

out of sight, and out of mind,
of those of us

who are more privileged.

In the last generation,

the world has made dramatic
progress against hunger.

Since 1990 the number of people
living in extreme poverty

has dropped by more than half:
from 2 billion

to less than 1 billion.

We are on a trajectory to end
extreme poverty in our lifetime.

Around the world,
the poorest of the poor

are climbing out
of extreme poverty

and are gaining modest
and dignified lives.

Recent progress has been blunted
by new setbacks,

including the COVID-19 crisis.

But there is still reason
for hope as hard-working locals,

smart governments,

and NGOs are partnering
to overcome hunger.

Back up in Tigray, Abadi and
his family are a good example.

While still poor,
they have a more modern home,

and are actually
making progress.

Abadi explained how he's
running a productive small farm,

growing enough for his family
needs with a surplus to sell.

He showed me how a tank
he fills with manure

produces fertilizer.

At the same time, it generates
methane (or "biogas").

Abadi can now fire up
his stove and boil water

without using firewood.

He has light
even after the sun goes down.

His home is spacious,
with windows for ventilation

and a sturdy tin roof.

The old kerosene lamp
grows dusty as this light

is now powered
by a solar panel,

and the same panel
provides enough juice

to charge their cellphones.

The family has worked hard

and has enough food
stored to get them,

hopefully, through
the hunger season.

And a few sheep
share the courtyard

until they're sold at the market
to boost the family income.

Rising out of extreme poverty
through development

requires certain
basics.

Water is fundamental
to health,

hygiene, and
nutrition.

But, for much of
the world,

access to water
is a daily struggle.

Hundreds of millions of people
live in villages

with no running water or well.

They have to walk for
their water -- often for hours.

It's typically a job
for women and children.

A vital step in development is
building water infrastructure.

This Ethiopian village
got a well last year

thanks to an American NGO

whose mission is to do
exactly that.

Wells like these cost
about $4,000.

Today, with a neighborhood well,
these people no longer

need to walk hours a day
to get their water.

Modern aid projects are not
simply given to a community.

Experience has taught
development workers

that locals who actually work
for these projects

take better care of them.

They work with the NGOs
to build the projects.

This pump is community owned.

A locally elected committee
manages it,

and each family pays about
a dollar a month to maintain it.

With ownership
comes responsibility

and good stewardship.

Water infrastructure divides the
poor from the extremely poor.

Having to depend on river water
means farmers

and families
are dependent on rain.

River water may carry
waterborne diseases.

With safe water

reliably available
right in the village,

there's better hygiene --

families are sick less often,

children have more time
and energy for school and work,

and the moms have more time
and energy

to nurture their children.

Ironically, most of the hungry
people in the world are farmers.

Helping farmers grow more
food more profitably

is essential for overcoming
extreme poverty.

More food means more money,
which fuels development.

Exciting advances in agriculture
have resulted

in a green revolution throughout
the developing world.

Ethiopia is becoming
a model of development,

thanks to
governmental leadership.

The country is divided
into 18,000 districts --

each with a Farmers'
Training Center.

The government employs
60,000 teachers and coaches

who work to make sure
smart agricultural policies

are implemented
throughout the country.

-Here we train farmers

on different disciplines.
On livestock production,

feed management, irrigation,
and water management.

-For example,
here at Abadi's training center,

local farmers learn why
it's important to plant seeds

in a line
rather than scattering,

they learn to rotate crops
with plants like alfalfa,

which reinvigorates
the depleted soil,

and the government has studied
the soil across Ethiopia

and recommends just
the right mix of fertilizer

for each district.

Smart farming includes
selective breeding

so animals can survive
local conditions

as well as increase
their production.

This cow is
a European Holstein

crossed with an African breed --
hardy in the heat,

and giving more
than double the milk.

These hybrid chickens
lay triple the eggs

compared to the local ones.

The value of these
new farming techniques

is evident back on Abadi's farm.

While his parents subsisted
on corn only,

he's diversified
his crops.

And better seeds
allow three harvests a year,

rather than two.

An effective way to
fight hunger is

to focus on health
and nutrition.

After all, if you're
sick, you're more

likely to be poor,

and if you're
healthy

to climb out
of poverty.

In many developing countries,
the government --

often with the help
of the United Nations'

World Food Program --

maintains health posts
like this one.

Extremely poor people
have no money for health care.

But this health post
provides the basics

in the village for free.

Pauline Akabwai,
a local UN worker,

explained how they educate
young mothers -- who gather here

twice a month -- to help them
raise healthier babies:

-A health post is the smallest
unit of health in Ethiopia,

and this is
one of the health posts.

The reason why we have
a health post

is because of the close
proximity to the community.

And the mothers
and our beneficiaries

do not need to pay any money
to receive services.

-The World Food Program knows
that if babies

don't get the right calories
in their first thousand days,

they'll become
permanently stunted,

with underdeveloped brains,

and less able to climb
out of poverty.

-The main objective
is to prevent malnutrition.

We have a program called
"Targeted Supplementary

Feeding Program"...
-Mm-hmm.

-...and the program targets
children under 5 years

with moderate acute
malnutrition, and also pregnant

and lactating women with
moderate acute malnutrition.

One of the activities
that we do is to screen

for malnutrition,
moderate acute malnutrition.

They measure the arms
of the children,

and if the pointer
shows yellow,

it means the child is
moderately acute malnourished.

We also weigh children.

When you're screening
for malnutrition

you weigh children.

-Along with being malnourished,

children in the developing world
are more likely to contract

a host of dangerous diseases.

Inoculations are an example
of a global success

of a United Nations-led
initiative.

Measles, typhoid,
and pneumonia --

until recently commonplace
in the poor world --

are easily avoided with cheap
and simple vaccinations.

Thanks to a UN program

with generous funding
from the United States,

nearly all the world's children
are now inoculated

against these
most deadly diseases,

and child mortality
has dropped dramatically.

Education is critical.

Governments, private
enterprise, and parents

are realizing that an
educated work force

is a prerequisite
for development

in today's
global economy.

But there are persistent
cultural

and economic challenges.

Parents are often more eager
to get schooling

for their boys
than for their girls.

Education is often designed
to favor children of the ethnic

and economic elites
in the big cities,

to the disadvantage of minority
and rural children.

And many children
don't have families

or the money
to get an education.

Even if school
is technically free,

uniforms and supplies are not,

and these can make school just
too expensive for a poor family.

AIDS devastated
thousands of families,

resulting in populations
of uneducated

or under-educated children.

An American charity
funds an organization

that runs
the Awassa Children's Project.

These kids --
who lost parents to AIDS --

will have the nutrition
and early-childhood care

necessary to get
the education they need.

As is the standard set
by Ethiopia's government,

they'll get eight grades
and then graduate

into a vocational
training school.

For these students,

a few months here
prepares them to get a job:

Computer labs,

welding skills,

plumbing,

and a field with lots
of future employment:

being a solar-panel technician.

While there's been
tremendous progress

globally in the fight
against hunger,

unfortunately, over
the last few years,

hunger has ticked up
rather than declined.

To a great extent,
it's because of a

combination of
three things:

conflict,

bad governance and
corruption,

and climate change.

Africa has had its own
difficult history,

from slavery
to brutal colonialism,

to rampant corruption
under modern-day tyrants.

Today, Addis Ababa
hosts the African Union --

an organization of all
54 African nations.

It's dedicated to helping
the continent heal and develop.

The stated mission here
is to overcome the conflict,

bad governance,
and corruption

that's long wracked
this continent.

Another major hurdle
to ending hunger

is the changing
climate.

In wealthy countries

we turn up the air-con,
generating more CO2 --

and debate the existence
of climate change.

But climate change
is here,

and it's hitting
the poorest people

in the poorest
countries hardest.

Ethiopia is clearly struggling
with the effects

of a warming planet.

The rains don't come as reliably
as they once did,

leading to once good land
becoming desert.

And when the rains do come,

it's often in a torrent --
washing away vital topsoil.

But Ethiopia is stepping up
to the challenge.

Here in Tigray --

long notorious for droughts --

the government has organized
local communities

to terrace and reforest
eroded hillsides.

People here understand
that planting trees

increases rainfall.

And terracing allows rainwater
to soak into the earth.

Abadi is able to irrigate
his crops

thanks to
a replenished water table.

And water-management
infrastructure is also critical

in dealing with the impact
of climate change.

Reservoirs enable farmers
to dole out their precious water

as needed, and more efficiently.

Thanks to this,
reforestation projects,

and improvements
in agriculture --

a new approach called
"climate-smart agriculture" --

Ethiopian farmers are becoming
more resilient.

For instance, they believe that

while there will always
be droughts,

famines are now preventable.

In fact, in recent years,

Ethiopia has had several serious
droughts -- but no famines.

It takes trade to
develop,

and with the reality of
a globalized economy

that means trade with
the rest of the world.

Two things Ethiopia
has in abundance

when it comes to things the
rich world will pay for

are cheap labor and
coffee.

Coffee drinking and production
is a long-standing tradition

in Ethiopia,
dating back centuries.

In fact, Ethiopia is where
the coffee plant originated.

Here in this company,
we get a sense of both

the promise and limitations
of coffee exporting.

The coffee-bean crop
may be plentiful,

but most of the work
is done manually,

often in a back-breaking way
that requires many workers.

And trade restrictions
often limit the country

largely to sales
of just dried beans

rather than the more profitable
export of roasted beans.

While the poor world
generally exports its goods raw,

the rich world refines them,
making most of the profit.

But Ethiopia's main resource
is its people.

And just like the Pacific Rim
was able to develop

by being the world's workshop,
Ethiopia --

with 100 million people
ready to work --

aspires to do the same thing.

Ethiopia has made training
a skilled workforce a priority.

Learning industrial sewing
is good prep for a solid job.

And these grads got that job
just down the street

at the Hawassa Industrial Park.

This is one of many sprawling
complexes of industrial sheds

designed to generate
export income for Ethiopia.

Each shed is run

by an international
manufacturing company.

This is made possible because
of supportive US trade policy,

the low cost of Ethiopian labor,

and the government's aggressive
initiative to attract business.

Thank you for having us here.
What is this park?

-Yeah.

-Ethiopian workers
are about where

China's workers were
a generation ago.

As China has developed,

it's no longer the world's
primary source of cheap labor.

Ethiopia aspires
to spur its development

by helping to fill that role
in today's global economy.

Technology has become a boon
to developing countries,

bringing new approaches --
like solar panels --

to overcoming
extreme poverty.

Low-cost, high-tech innovations
are offering solutions

to age-old challenges.

Remote
off-the-grid communities

are employing
wireless technology --

leapfrogging past older energy

and communication
infrastructure.

For example, solar panels
are powering villages

that were literally in the dark
without electricity.

This solar panel
powers a water pump,

so the village can make it
through dry periods

by filling this reservoir.

And cheap cellphones
are revolutionizing

the world
of small-business people,

herders learn when and where
to bring their stock to market.

This entrepreneur
can make a direct sale

and avoid a needless middleman.

And entrepreneurs can make
and receive mobile payments,

and do their banking
without making a trip into town.

Traveling through Ethiopia
is a great chance

to better understand the
economic reality of our world.

It gives me
my most valued souvenir:

empathy. And it makes me
consider my relation to it all.

Should I feel guilty?
Why should I care?

Can I make a difference?

I've thought a lot about this.

I don't need to feel guilty.

But I want to be honest
about our world:

how privileged we are,

and how there is an obscene gap
between the rich and poor.

We can be part of the solution.

That's exciting --
and it's an opportunity.

Considering all the wealth
in our world,

700 million people
living in extreme poverty

is just not right.

We can end hunger
in our lifetime.

We can do it altruistically,
because we care,

or we can do it
because it'll make our world

a more stable place,
and our country safer.

Or we can do it
for both reasons.

Thanks for joining us
in Ethiopia.

I'm Rick Steves wishing you
thoughtful travels.

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