JIGJIGA, ETHIOPIA — Ahmed Mohammed rises before dawn in Jigjiga, the bustling capital of Ethiopia’s Somali region. The 38-year-old’s new routine contrasts starkly with the pastoralist life he once knew. Each morning, he heads to a construction site, where he now works as a daily laborer in grueling conditions — a significant shift from his previous role as a herder. “I’ve stepped into a life I never imagined. Survival now means learning something new every day,” he says, sipping coffee in a modest café that serves fellow laborers. Originally from Kebribeya district, a region of semiarid plains, Ahmed lost nearly all of his livestock to a devastating drought that struck the Horn of Africa three years ago, in 2021. Ahmed is not alone. Drought and climate change across Somali region’s drylands is forcing many, like Ahmed, to seek alternative livelihoods in farming, petty trade (selling milk, clothing, shoes, etc.) and construction in urban centers — roles that require entirely new skills. In such regions where communities traditionally identify as herders, their animals tend to symbolize both wealth and cultural identity. Losing them is devastating. “For pastoralists, who heavily depend their livelihood on natural resources, drought is not merely a climatic event; it’s an existential threat,” says Essayas Nigatu, senior pastoralist expert at the World Bank. “As recently seen, drought leads to severe water shortages, depletes grazing areas of natural forage and impairs animal health, resulting in significant livestock losses and disrupting traditional pastoralist lifestyles.” Over the past 30 years, changing…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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