Town camels and milk villages in Somali Region, Ethiopia

The growth of small towns in Somali Region of Ethiopia has led pastoralists to seek ties to important new markets. Camels are the most important signifier of wealth and determinant of status in the community; their milk has been mostly used for domestic purposes. In Gode town, one pastoralist struck on an idea to market camel milk in towns. Today, this innovation is spreading widely and hundreds of camels are forming ‘milk villages’ around towns to meet increasing demand. The 2-page update “Town camels and milk villages: the growth of camel milk marketing in the Somali Region of Ethiopia” (2010) by Abdi Abdullahi Hussein from the Future Agricultures Consortium reports on this research into pastoralist innovation.

Posted on 11 August 2013 in Pastoral Research & Innovation, Pastoralism & Marketing