This year's Ten Thousand Villages Festival Sale has added a new feature.
An information night will be held, focusing on agriculture and food security in Ethiopia on the Friday evening of the sale, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m.
For many Canadians, images of Ethiopia are limited to famine and drought. But there are many in Nova Scotia - and more specifically in Truro - who are experiencing for themselves that Ethiopia has much more.
An information night will be held, focusing on agriculture and food security in Ethiopia on the Friday evening of the sale, Nov. 27 at 7 p.m.
For many Canadians, images of Ethiopia are limited to famine and drought. But there are many in Nova Scotia - and more specifically in Truro - who are experiencing for themselves that Ethiopia has much more.
Ethiopia/Nova Scotia connections
Julie Ramey, a teacher from Lunenburg, returned from an educators' tour led by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
"We were blessed to see initiatives that are empowering people to work toward more sustainable and secure ways of supporting themselves, building relationships, forging networks, being trained and building hope," she said.
In Ethiopia, agriculture isn't just a way of life; in many respects, it's the cornerstone of life itself.
Approximately 80 to 85 per cent of the country's population is employed in agriculture. The country has the largest livestock population in all of Africa and agriculture contributes more than 40 per cent of the country's total GDP.
Despite challenges such as food insecurity and limited social support, Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and could potentially become a middle income country by 2025.
"Since Ten Thousand Villages is about ending global poverty by providing access to income for food, water, health, shelter, education, we thought it a good fit to host this evening session to learn more about our local Ethiopia connections and be inspired by the Ethiopia of today," said sale organizer Brenda Leenders.
Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.
The intention is to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn an income by bringing their products and stories to markets in North America.
Ten Thousand Villages works with more than 120 different artisans groups from more than 30 countries across the globe.
The Ten Thousand Villages Festival Sale is at Immanuel Baptist Church, 295 Young St., Truro on Nov. 27, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Ethiopia NS Connections information session will be held at the sale Nov 27, 7 to 8 p.m.
It is a free event. Fair-traded Ethiopian coffee will be served.
For more information on the Truro sale contact Brenda Leenders at 893-4197.
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