Transhumance in Ethiopia

In the crop growing season, transhumance is practised on a broad scale in the northern Ethiopian highlands, as farmland and its stubble can no longer be accessed by livestock.

[1] Transhumance may be defined as “the practice of herd movements that are seasonal, occurring between two points, following very precise routes and repeated each year”.

[1][4] If a village has no access to nearby pasture grounds, the farmers will organise transhumance to a distant place during the crop growing period in the rainy season.

Evenings, a few adult men, on rotational basis, join the herd and supervise the safety at night of the livestock and the children; they also bring food.

[4] The destination zone of the transhumance is locally called ‘’berekha’’, a term that typically refers to a place that is remote from villages and with a good vegetation cover.