Collegiate Times

Image: 2011-03-30 22:08:18

Virginia Tech researchers recently received a grant to teach Ethiopian officials and citizens appropriate ways to construct and maintain rural roads. 

The $159,000 grant was awarded to a Tech agricultural and natural resource management program by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Awarded as part of a 10-year contract with USAID, $27 million was given to Tech researchers to study sustainable agriculture and natural resource management under the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program.

In 2009, USAID approached both Theo Dillaha, professor of biological systems engineering, and Michael Bertelsen, associate director of the Office of International Research, Education and Development.

Dillaha and Bertelsen were asked to do a quick assessment of the public works sector of Ethiopia and develop training programs to alleviate any problems. Dillaha said they found severe construction, environmental and sedimentation issues associated with rural roads.

“Our goal is to make the roads more sustainable and eliminate the environmental problems that are caused by them,” Dillaha said. 

Most rural-access roads in Ethiopia are constructed by hand as part of the world’s largest “work for food” program. Those who choose to participate in road construction receive food and small amounts of cash, according to Dillaha. Part of the money comes from the World Bank, the U.S. government and other industrialized countries. 

“Approximately a billion dollars a year in U.S. tax money goes to Ethiopia,” Dillaha said.  

As part of this program, citizens at the village level vote on what service projects they would like to see completed or complete themselves, including water supply improvements, additional clinics or rural roads.  

However, this can cause serious environmental issues in the future because the roads are constructed by those with very little to no training, according to Dillaha.

Dillaha and Bertelsen, along with other Tech affiliates and Ethiopian engineers, are currently developing and implementing a training program that will begin at the state level, move on to the county level and ultimately end at the village level. They will teach workers the techniques needed in labor-based road construction.  

“Its a cascading training program,” Bertelsen said.

Dillaha and others will train roughly 40 individuals at the state level, who will continue to train others within the Amhara region of Ethiopia, resulting in thousands of trained workers.

Those participating in training include Dillaha, two Ethiopian engineers, a civil engineer from Egypt and others. 

They will leave after classes conclude in May and spend approximately two weeks in Ethiopia. 

Training includes hands-on training, conducted both in the field and in the classroom.

“They’ll be learning how to do it with shovels and picks,” Dillaha said.

He is specifically working on a system to integrate road construction with a rain water catching system.

“If we can actually improve skills enough so that they have reliable transportation during all seasons of the year, I believe it will have a huge impact on these people,” Dillaha said. 

“The roads are access to markets, health services and more,” Bertelsen said, emphasizing the importance of rural access roads in Ethiopia.

Dillaha sees this problem beyond the Amhara region of Ethiopia and is considering expanding this project into the Sudan. 

“This is a problem all over the world, not just in Ethiopia,” Dillaha said. 

Bertelsen has had a long-standing interest in Ethiopia and said Tech is able to make a difference where it is needed.

“We need to do what we can as a land grant institution to help these countries,” Bertelsen said. 

A version of this article appeared in the Mar 31 issue of the Collegiate Times.