Proceedings of the 2th Conference on Konso Cultural Landscape: Terracing & Moringa: Italian Cultural Institute. Addis Ababa, December 13th and 14th, 2011

Enrico Castelli

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Terracing and agroforestry in Konso The UNESCO recent inscription of the Konso Cultural Landscape into the World Heritage List is the reconnaissance of the value of the Konso traditional techniques of terracing and specific use of indigenous plants, elements that, together, brought Konso people to install themselves successfully in the semi-arid highlands of Southern Ethiopia. The Konso terracing are the best preserved example of an ancient technique once spread in Eastern Africa from Eritrea to Zimbabwe, but abandoned in the recent past for extensive agriculture and the slow, but steady, global migration of people to lower lands. The Konso terracing multiple functions incude: a sophisticated water control, efficient soil conservation and the hosting on terracing of a variety of plants, including woody perennials and herbaceous, that is known as agroforestry.Moringa stenopetala in Ethiopia The domestication of Moringa stenopetala, originated in the lowlands between Kenya and Ethiopia, allowed Konso civilization to resist to extenuating droughts by providing them with vitamins, proteins and minerals. It is time to explore the potentialities of terracing and Moringa to find a durable response to the humanitarian crisis that cyclically affect the Horn of Africa.