Eritrean communities always strive to improve their livelihoods. Wherever you go in the country development campaigns have been growing steadily since the independence.
Agricultural and economic activities are highly encouraged and communities are working with the government hand and gloves. Small villages are also contributing their parts in improving their economic status through agricultural activities and sustaining their livelihoods by selling their products. Villages such as Adi Amru, located in the Rocky Mountains of the Loga Anseba sub region are doing their part in fulfilling the demands of their communities.
Adi Amru is a small village, some 60 km away from Asmara. One of the main rivers of the country, Anseba River, and the old rail way road circulate around the village. To the east, the village borders the Anseba River, to the south Adi Niamn and river Shitamo, to the west a village named Leben Tarib and to the north Mai Derese. Adi Amru is one of the oldest villages in Eritrea that is recognized as a subway of the old railway road that extended from Asmara all the way to the sub region of Loga Anseba. One can find many railway terminals (“staseni” in Italian) on the way to this village, Dem Sebay terminal, Danduru and others. The elders of this village have good memories of the then operational trains (such as the Leterina). Nowadays, this old abandoned railway road is the preferred road way of the inhabitants to and from this town. There is also another summer road way the Harat buses use to give transportation service upto Adi Niamn on a daily basis.
The village has 70 households and 20 peasants who support and sustain their families. These people make their living by cultivating and marketing some vegetables and fruits as well as herding livestock. There is about one hectare of land cultivated in this small rocky village. Another 200 kms of land that stretches from a place called Kebedayo up to grat Geday is reserved by the community of the village for agricultural and other economic activities for those who are willing to invest in it. The peasants sell their livestock every Thursday to Adi Tekelezan and Adi Niamn while vegetables and fruits are sent to Asmara’s big markets on the weekends.
The Adi Amru village has a temperate climate, and farmers grow tomatoes, pepper, onions, sorghum and fruits such as oranges and guavas. All of these have been cultivated by the only source of water, the ground water of the river beds. Surrounding villages also use the same source for drinking. In summer, Anseba River used to be the source of water for farmers to drink and cultivate their lands while in other times their only source were the small wells around. However, ground water has been drying from time to time and the community had to come up with a solution.
At the moment, the community of Adi Amru has managed to have a big dam to support their lives and lives of their animals. The dam is believed to solve all previous water shortages of the surrounding areas. It is 100 meters, long 60 meters wide and 60 meters high. Such a huge project in a small town is financed by the community of the town, and this shows that the Eritrean society is giving a helping hand and contributing to the national development plans.
The organized community of this village is gradually changing its lifestyle and lifestyle of the surrounding people. Other social services such as electricity supply are also ongoing, and 50% of installation is already completed. The number of female students in the region as a whole is increasing, and Mr. Nasser said it is nearing that of the males. The children of the village have to travel to neighboring villages such as Adi Niamn and Derseney to get access to educational. There is one elementary and one middle school in Dereseney and all levels of school in Adi Niamn for these children. Health services for these villagers have been provided in Adi Niamn and Meqerka. But at the moment a new health center will be opened in a place called Deqi Zeru, which is only 2 kms away from Adi Amru.
Furthermore, the communal in Derseney provides court services to the surrounding people in the sub zone. Mr. Nasser said that any social conflict are minimized and solved within the village. If not they are transferred to the communal court in Derseney.
Community-led social transformations are growing by the day in even small villages of remote areas and are positively encouraged by the government since the initiatives are in line with the national development plans. The Adi amru community looks forward to preserving its soil from erosion through planting more trees and expanding more areas to be cultivated by introducing modern farming that depend on the new water source and electricity in the near future.