Tariku sows his small plot of land with maize every year, but drought has often left his plants withered and producing only a fraction of what a well-watered crop would yield. Some years, it has been so dry that his crop produced nothing. A good harvest is vital for him to provide for his family. 
The Tufa and Ambagodasede Food Security project will helps families like Tariku's by developing agricultural practices and constructing an irrigation scheme to bring water to his land. With better crops, families are better able to provide for themselves, and have the economic means to access health care and education services.
Irrigation for Food Security
The villages of Tufa and Ambagodasede are located 200km South of Addis Ababa, on the shores of Lake Langano in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia. The goal of this project is to improve food security in these two chronically famine-affected communities, by building two 40 hectare irrigation schemes to sustain crops through drought. These will directly benefit 8,500 people.
Irrigating the staple maize crop will give the people sufficient food to eat. It will also allow the villagers to grow cash crops for the local markets such as vegetables and fruit trees.
Tariku already plants his small house compound garden in green chilli peppers, a high priced item in the local market. Hauling water from the spring, a mile's walk away, he can only manage to care for a small plot of peppers. However, with irrigation, he will be able to plant a larger garden of chillis to sell in the market.
Bringing the Gospel
Providing a means for irrigation is not the only goal of this project. It is done in the name of Christ, to show his love to people who do not know Him. SIM is also working together with the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC) to bring Living Water to the people of these villages, where a new church has been planted.
