New book ‘Changing Rural Ethiopia: Community Transformations’ available to purchase online soon

  • 24 octubre 2018

Ethiopia WIDE is a longitudinal qualitative research programme tracking long-term development trajectories as experienced by rural communities in a fast-evolving wider context.

Following the launch in Ethiopia of the WIDE3 book, ‘Change and Transformation in Twenty Rural Communities, Ethiopia’, in February 2017, an international edition of the book has been published in the US by Tsehai Publishers and will soon be available to purchase online. The title of the book is ‘Changing Rural Ethiopia: Community Transformations’.

The book documents transformation in twenty rural communities in Ethiopia, that have changed almost beyond recognition, in complex ways. The communities have become less rural through urbanisation and more outward-looking, including through labour migration. The local economies have become more diversified, offering opportunities for entrepreneurial individuals and greater participation of women. At the same time inequalities have risen and young people’s aspirations have grown with more educational opportunities. However, youth face increased challenges in improving their livelihoods and transitioning to adulthood. The expansion in health care is important, particularly for young women, mothers and babies, though girls still face a range of risks in growing up, and poverty and remoteness affect the wellbeing of mothers and infants.

This book will appeal to policymakers, practitioners, donors and academics seeking to understand Ethiopia today through the experiences of the majority of its people who still live beyond the major conurbations; and the ways their lives have evolved over the last twenty years.