OTHER LOCAL THEMES
communications
culture and customs
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BACKGROUND
introducing the area

traditional skills

 quotes about traditional skills
 key testimonies featuring traditional skills

The main skilled work is metalwork. The blacksmiths make cooking pots and pans as well as farm implements such as ploughs, sickles and hoes. Other skills mentioned are weaving and potting. One narrator (Ethiopia 1) comments that she acquired her skills "from my elders and life itself". Tanners and potters are also in the same situation as blacksmiths. They are considered to be of a lower social status and were only able to marry within their group. Previously this was like a caste society and these groups were at the bottom. However essential these skills were to the community, artisans faced discrimination and it is only relatively recently that prejudice against them has been breaking down. Since the overthrow of Haile Sellassie, the emphasis on equality of all people has been strongly advocated, and this has had considerable impact on social attitudes.

Some skills, such as beekeeping, are being encouraged or revived by development agencies as alternative sources of income to farming and herding.

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quotes about traditional skills

"If my skills or knowledge serves me to make a living out of it, then I will be proud of it... In the old days craftsmanship such as weaving clothes and pottery were looked down upon by the society. Now people have become more civilised and do not regard potters as evil-eyed. So if I can get income from such crafts, I will not hesitate to apply them for a living."
Ayichesh, F/28, head of household, Ethiopia 1

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