Sitotaw's story is a testament to resilience and community support. Through Project Ethiopia's microloans, he transformed from a struggling daily laborer into a prosperous farmer. His investments in livestock and transport services boosted his income, securing his family's future and contributing to his community. Today, he inspires others by sharing his journey towards success.

Agriculture plays an important role in the life and livelihood of most Ethiopians, where about 12 million smallholder farming households account for an estimated 95% of agricultural production and 85% of employment.  This makes it even more impressive that Workineh Genetu, Project Ethiopia’s leader of its Farmers’ Association program, has been named Ethiopia’s Farmer of the Year four separate times.

Assaye and Amarech live in the Dengeshta community and have been married for 35 years, but their families have lived only 2 km from one another all their lives. When they were first married, Assaye and Amarech lived with Assaye’s family. After four years, the couple received one hectare farmland (approximately 2.5 acres) from Assaye’s parents who also built them a tikul (the traditional grass roofed home in the countryside) to start their own family.

The practice and art of beekeeping has been a longstanding staple in the history of Ethiopia’s economic development. A global leader in the development of beeswax and honey, Ethiopia possesses the 5th most beehives of any country in the world, after only India, China, Turkey and Iran.

What would a small business or budding entrepreneur be able to do with a loan of $300 in the U.S.? Likely not very much. However, in rural Ethiopia, a loan this size can make a very significant difference in the life and livelihood of the loan recipient and their family.

Independence is something all humans crave. We all desire the power to make our own decisions, provide for our family, and be financially independent. When we have these things, it instills confidence, security, and joy in us. For many parts of the world a microloan is the start to independence.

Mekedis is a single mother of five children who lives and farms in the Dengeshta community. She is also one of 14 recipients in her community to receive a recent micro loan from Project Ethiopia. This year we established a second micro loan fund that will benefit residents of Dengeshta.

With a desire and vision to share his farming knowledge and experience with others in the community, our Project Leader, Workineh Genetu, formed the first Project Ethiopia Farmers’ Association in 2007. The goal was simple from the beginning: By training a core group of farmers in each village to improve their practices and increase yield, knowledge would spread naturally among families and neighbors to eventually impact an entire community.

Because a family’s diet is so often self-sourced or bought locally, without healthy and prolific livestock production, many become – or are raised – malnourished.