Communities of Meket

Website: www.community-tourism-ethiopia.com
E-mail: tesfacbt@ethionet.et or tesfaethiopia@gmail.com

Community

Mequat Mariam, Wajela, Aterow, Yadukulay, Boya Mikael, Aina Amba, Geneta Mariam, Ad MedhanAlem, Gicha (lunch stop), Meskal (lunch stop), and Werkhaye (lunch stop).

Who they are

All 11 communities are rural, Amharic speaking, Ethiopian Orthodox communities in Amhara Region.
The communities in this part of the highland Wollo, in northern Ethiopia, are a broadly Semitic people. Over 95% of the rural population are Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, following what is a unique church, blending Old and New Testament beliefs.

The farmers in the countryside cultivate using ox drawn ploughs, and manual methods of sowing and harvesting, cultivating barley at higher levels, with wheat and other cereals, pulses and some vegetables. Sheep and cattle graze alongside horses and donkeys at the higher levels, with little boys acting as shepherds. Women and girls collect water in great earthenware pots and wash clothes in streams. Men plough fields with teams of oxen. The impression is of a mediaeval or even biblical landscape.

What they offer

These communities offer the opportunity to walk through the age-old agrarian landscape of the Ethiopian Highlands following escarpments with birds of prey soaring over the thermals and Gelada baboon scrambling up and down the cliff face. Local shepherd boys keep an eye on their flocks, while their fathers plough the fields, and their sisters collect water in clay pots. Trekking through this landscape, and staying in the local communities along the way, will be an experience of a lifetime! Below is a glimpse into the world of rural Ethiopia that you will be stepping into:

Mequat Mariam, Western Meket. 2,800masl. Started operating in 2003.
Mequat Mariam, a remote parish based around the church of St.Mary’s of Mequat, was the first community site to begin hosting guests in 2003. The tukuls (thatched round cottages) are set on a promontory of the Meket plateau with staggering views to the west and south. A small troop of Gelada Baboons patrol the escarpment, and a troop of Vervet monkeys sometime come up for a visit. Lammergeyers, vultures, buzzard, kites, ravens and many other birds soar over the site.
Mequat Mariam boasts a ‘rock bar’, a smooth sheltered ledge that is warmed by the afternoon sun and invites guests to sit with a drink and watch the golden glow at the end of the day turn red as the sun sets over Mount Guna.

Wajela, Western Meket. 2,800masl. Started operating in 2004.
This is a village set on a small slightly sloping step, just off the edge of the escarpment. Some of our clients have used the word bucolic to describe this more gentle site where guests are almost in the village. Below the small cluster of cottages (tukuls) is Werketa Mariam church with its rusty red roof and surrounding woodland of majestic African Juniper trees. Just a bit below Wajela, on the next step down, is an Acacia wood where the community have built their own small chapel, dedicated to the Ethiopian saint Abuna Menfes Kidus (also called simply Abo). This community of close to 100 households used to worship at Werketa, but now use their own church. This site was funded as part of Save the Children UK’s Meket Livelihoods Programme, with funding from the Netherlands’ Embassy.

Aterow, Western Meket, 3,000 masl. Started operating in 2006.
Aterow consists of a cluster of tukuls near the church of Abuna Aragawi, set above a gorge with a waterfall. It is another spectacular site. The community here are the parishioners of the Aragawi church. There are close to 200 households.
Aterow is a great place to see Gelada baboons coming up from the gorge below and rock hyrax warming on the cliff in the morning. Aterow is quite close to the junction of the Lalibela road and the road along the top of the escarpment linking Bahir Dar and Gondar to the eastern towns Woldiya and Dessie. It is also only about 1 hour from the airport in Lalibela and makes a good end or starting point for a trek to the west. This site was funded as part of Save the Children UK’s Meket Livelihoods Programme, with funding from the Netherlands’ Embassy.

Yadukulay, Eastern Meket, 2,600masl. Started operating in 2007
Yadukulay is set on a small twin peaked hill in a valley just off the escarpment. It is near the village of Taja, about 50km south of Lalibela. It links the more established western sites to the newer eastern sites and makes a very good start or end to a trek.
The surrounding land is irrigated from streams coming off the escarpment to the south, and there are great 360 degree views of the escarpments around which there are some excavated cave churches. Trekkers visiting here will need to be prepared for a climb up to, or down from, the neighbouring sites with some steep sections. The walk to Aterow is not too long, but the walk to Boya is a hard day’s walk. It is definitely worth the effort though, as the walks are all varied and interesting, but you need to be reasonably fit.
The community here is close to 200 household and they worship at the nearby church of Yadukulay Giyorgis, with its woodland of mixed tree species clearly visible from the site. This site was funded as part of Save the Children UK’s Meket Livelihoods Programme, with funding from the Netherlands’ Embassy.

Along with the other communities you will have the chance to see many animals and birds:
On the cliffs around Meket and Lasta there are Gelada baboon, Rock hyrax and shy Klipspringer. In woods at some sites there are Vervet monkeys, while on the way to Abuna Yoseph you can see Hamadras Baboons at over 3,000 masl. Soaring overhead are innumerable birds, including the mighty Lammergeyer, Augur Buzzards, Black Eagles, Ruppels Vulture, yellow–billed kites, red-chested Sparrowhawks, African Harrier Hawks, various ravens and crows. Smaller birds including Ruppell’s Black Chat, flocks of the endemic white-billed starlings, yellow bishops, Abyssinian Catbirds, the migratory Red Tailed Shrike, the African Grey Cuckoo and Hemprich’s Hornbill. There is also from time to time the rather large Abyssinian Ground Hornbill.

Location

Travellers need to book with TESFA beforehand, because communities need to be alerted to come to the ‘trail head’ and meet their guests, and they need to get ready to cook and look after them. Some notice is a good idea, and many sites get booked up in advance.
TESFA TSU;
PO Box 3211,
Code 1250,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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What you need

- Torch
- Sun cream & lip balm
- Hat
- Towl
- Sleeping bags (only if you are worried about the cold)
- Good walking shoes or boots & walking poles if you suffer knee problems
- Wind/waterproof jacket
- Fleece jacket
- Walking clothes of decent length to respect local customs

Accommodation & Amenities

• Guests on these walks will find bedrooms with comfortable beds with linen, blankets, pillows etc at each site. There are 3 bedrooms at each site with two beds in each, so most people end up sharing a room.
• Toilets are with a view – a seat in a small thatched house with a vista to talk about. Toilets are composting urine-separating toilets. Showers are again outside – in roofless cubicles with a simple shower system. A hand wash facility is also provided.
• There is no electricity.
• Food is almost all vegetarian and home cooked by the communities using local produce. Staples such as rice and spaghetti are cooked in the evening. At lunch stops, the local enjara is served with a range of vegetable dishes. Breakfast is eggs or pancakes with local honey. Tea and coffee (special Ethiopian coffee) are also provided.
• The fee for staying at the Community Tourism sites is 450ETB per person, per 24 hours. This is approximately £25.00GB / €30Euro / $50.00 USD. (Children with parents >2 yrs = free, 2-11yrs = 200ETB, 12-15 = 350ETB).
  This payment includes accommodation, food: breakfast, simple picnic lunch (or where developed a lunch stop with another community), snacks on arrival and dinner), local beverages (tea and coffee), guide and pack animals or porters to carry luggage (a reasonable amount only in soft bags if possible).
  Payment excludes bottled drinks (still water, mineral water, soft drinks, beers, wine etc), entry fees to local churches (if you wish to enter) and transport.

Check out the current exchange rate ETB to USD

More information

Find out more about Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives (TESFA), an NGO that works with Communities of Meket.

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