Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

The above figure shows the various chains that are identified among actors. Harvesters are linked to
producers, intermediaries and direct consumers, whereas intermediaries are linked to producers and
consumers. Thus, the solid arrows show the links between the chain actors. In addition, the broken
arrows show the percentage of bamboo value at each level of the respective chain.
Discussion
The use of bamboo in Shedem, as in most parts of Ethiopia where bamboo is used, ranges from
household use to trading in order to generate income. Houses and fences in Shedem are made of
bamboo as are beds, beehives, and grain storages. It was found that 85–95% of the community relies
on bamboo business with an average of 47% of their income being derived from it. However, the
income deviation from the mean is found to be high suggesting the economic benefit derived from
bamboo in Shedem is not similar across all community members. This needs attention as some
marginalised households (elderly and female headed ones) might not be able to earn as much benefit.
It is estimated that the total annual amount of bamboo harvested in Shedem is between
3,356,055–3,750,885 culms; i.e. 1.18–1.3% of the total resource available per year. It is generally
recommended to harvest only mature bamboo culms (3–4 years of age and up) and up to 70%
of the culms on a given surface. Effective bamboo management involves systematic but selective
cutting of mature culms, thereby harvesting a crop that is valuable (KEFRI 2007). This percentage
of harvest in Shedem is quite low and sustainability is probably not a concern at this stage. However,
the fact that young culms and shoots are damaged in the harvesting sites and that the majority of the
forest area is far and hard to access, suggests a higher harvest rate in the relatively accessible sites
where the harvesting activities are currently concentrated. It should also be noted that there are other
kebeles, including Adaba Gefecha, that boarder the bamboo forest. Hence, the rate of harvest is
definitely more than what is stated above for Shedem households alone. However, since the majority
of the bamboo harvest is observed to be in Shedem kebele, this still does not cause alarm regarding
unsustainable culm removal.
In Shedem, large family sizes are seen which are generally attributed to the practice of
polygamy. Both the large family size and large age range of harvesters call for caution as it could
highly increase bamboo harvesting in the kebele with the increase in population. Fortunately, among
the interviewees 80% were literate showing high potential for various training as part of development
interventions.
There is high demand for bamboo materials and furniture in Shedem, Goba and Robe. In
Shedem people are keen to learn how to make such furniture for their own use whereas consumers
in Goba and Robe have high demand for quality furniture and other crafts to be available in markets.
The high demand shows that there could be lucrative market for bamboo if more people are trained
and current quality is improved, as well as ensuring sustainable practices.
The value chain of bamboo originating from Shedem was found to be fairly simple.
The chain actors are the farmers in Shedem who harvest bamboo for sale (value = 1ETB/culm),
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 221