The village established its cooperative in the early 1990s. Every member of the community makes equal yearly earnings. Last year, the amount was 6200 birr, or 300 dollars. That may seem low, but ten years ago the yearly income in the village was only 50 birr, or three dollars.
The money is from farming, cloth goods and from money spent by people travelling to the area. The community also sells goods to nearby villages and cities.
People in Awra Amba work six days a week. Five days of work are for the cooperative. The sixth day is for supporting older people, children without parents and those who are too weak to work.
Semenesh Alemu weaves cloth for the cooperative. She says the money that the members share is not enough to support her family. She says the money is good if you compare it with how much she used to earn. But she says she must work on her personal day to make more money for her family.
Awra Amba is trying to develop jobs for the younger generation of university graduates like Gebreyehu Desalo. He studied agricultural economics. He returned home to work in the financial office of Awra Amba.
“I don’t want to have a life different from my community. I grew up here and they teach me throughout my life and I’m working with them. And I’m sharing equally as a member.”
Staying in the village means Gebreyehu Desalo will probably never buy a car or a computer. There is one laptop for the village now. But the community hopes to be able to buy more someday.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25