The Middle Ground: Telling a Better Story about the Famine in the Horn of Africa

It’s been two months since global officials have officially deemed the famine in the Horn of Africa as the worst to hit the world in a century. During those same two months, I’ve released Coffee Story: Ethiopia and have been speaking to audiences about a broader landscape of possibility in Ethiopia that includes coffee. Coffee Story is the result of five years of work, during which time I never imagined the book would be released to this crisis. But now, eight weeks into speaking, writing, and thinking about the reality of the Ethiopia situation—one with massive problems, massive potential, and massive changes happening daily, I can tell you that this dialog might just have been what this book was made from since the beginning.

Jonathan Ledgard, the Africa correspondent for The Economist magazine, released an article on September 5^th that asked how much further we’d come as a global society since the famine of the 1980’s. He interviewed me for the piece, and what follows are my extended answers about the response to the famine, the pattern of media, and patience.

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Going Big

Majka Burhardt on a bit of decent rock in Ethiopia, 2007. Photo by Gabe RogelIn Conjunction with Pemba Serves

Five days ago I drove out of Eldorado Canyon after seven pitches of climbing with two professional women who live in Boulder. We’d spent the day climbing sandstone cracks freshly crisped by the proceeding evening storms. The river roared beneath us for the full day making communication difficult and creating isolation of judgment and choices for each of us while climbing. It was a day where climbing was climbing – the complete pairing of mental and physical connection dialed together by focus. As we drove away from the perfect day Tracy and Amy planned future objectives and talk circled to fall climbing plans. Tracy and Amy talked about Colorado; I brought up Ethiopia.

This fall I’m co-leading the second annual Imagine Ethiopia expedition. During the trip we will rock climb, mountain bike, do yoga, and further the path and possibility of Ethiopia’s education. And is if that was not enough we will also explore Ethiopia’s coffee heritage and help celebrate one of its greatest economic drivers. I’d like to say it will just be a standard 14 days in Ethiopia, but I’d be lying....

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Bring Back the Blades, An Additive Adventure Entry

Yes, that is my shadow. I have yet to recruit a professional photographer to shoot my blading.In Conjunction With OutsideTV.com and Osprey Packs

It’s January 28th. My new skis are tuned and fat. In Colorado today, like most days of the winter, the sun is out. The mountains are choked in snow. It looks like a fine day for rollerblading.

It was my Physical Therapist who started it. My back rehab has been going so well I thought I was ready to advance to skiing bumps. She suggested starting with rollerblading. “Have you ever done it?” she asked.

“Is the Pope Catholic?” I responded.

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Community On Ice, An Additive Adventure Entry

Peter Doucette on Mummy IVIn Conjunction With OutsideTV.com and Osprey Packs

...We chatted for a while. I tried to convince him ice climbing was a good idea—fun even—and he told me he liked to scuba dive. I told him I was afraid of dark water. He said he was afraid of frozen water. We accepted each other’s differences right up until he asked me where I ice climbed.

“This year?” I said, “Bozeman, MT, Ouray, CO, Cody, WY, Munising, MI, North Conway, NH…” I rattled off my winter schedule. “I go for ice, and for the ice festivals,” I said.

He nodded and thought for a while, as if mentally mapping out the locations in his head. “Is that really necessary?” he asked....

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Robbery Friendships, An Additive Adventure Entry

Haile, Photo By Peter DoucetteIn Conjunction With OutsideTV.com and Osprey Packs

...I’d like to say I went straight for the direct question: Hello, you look familiar; did I put you in jail a few years ago? But really, I stalled. We were hiking up to the base of the rock wall over hand-built terraces cradling the lush remnants of the recent rain. This year was the rainiest in three decades in Northern Ethiopia. That’s a big deal anywhere—it’s a huge deal when you are in the exact land where one million people were killed in a famine in 1984. This year, new trees were sprouting in muddy soil, yellow flowers covered desert thorns on tree branches, and wheat, barley and teff fields undulated in the wind....

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