Ethiopia, long the poster child for hunger and famine, is now a fine example of a country with a steadily improving economy. (For the last decade, its GDP has grown, on average, 10% a year.)
Ethiopia is divided into several thousand administrative units called “kebeles.” This system makes it easier to enact development initiatives and gives the government a smart way to coordinate and communicate with its 100 million people. The vast majority of Ethiopians are farmers — and when kebele leaders embrace strong programs from the national government, those farmers work smarter and grow well beyond subsistence farming. Join me at a farm in northern Ethiopia and take a look for yourself.
(Fun fact: Sociologists are finding that when rural communities in the developing world get electricity to power light bulbs and television sets, fertility rates go down.)
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You can find out more about my trip to Ethiopia at https://blog.ricksteves.com/blog/tag/ethiopia
