ETHIOPIA OVERVIEW
Located in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a vibrant and dynamic country of 125 million inhabitants, making it Africa’s second most populous nation. It’s home to a wide range of ethnic groups, cultures and languages, with a rich but turbulent history. Ethiopia’s economy is growing faster than any other on the continent, with a predominantly rural population. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, agriculture employs around 72% of Ethiopians, almost all being smallholder farmers. The country relies almost entirely on this cohort of smallholders for approximately 94% of its food.
This dependence on smallholder agricultural food production puts Ethiopia in a perilous position in the context of rapidly accelerating climate change. Droughts, floods and soil erosion caused by extreme weather are already having a devastating effect on food security and levels of poverty.
The land systems upon which rural communities rely are themselves being depleted, with soil, water, forests, and biodiversity being impacted severely. To mitigate the economic and environmental challenges rural communities are facing, immediate and effective climate action is needed.
Vita has been working in Ethiopia since 2005, particularly in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) and the Amhara Region, creating innovative local solutions to these urgent problems.
Our work in Ethiopia focuses on:
Food Security
We partner with rural communities to ensure access to nutritious and sufficient food all year round. We support communities in adopting climate-smart agricultural practices that increases farm yields and household incomes without harming the environment. Vita’s climate smart programmes help farming families to adapt to climate change while protecting and restoring the natural resource base that supports sustainable rural livelihoods. We are helping to build sustainable food production in Ethiopia through community-based seed multiplication systems for strategic food security crops, including the potato. We support families to grow a wider range of food crops so they can have a varied diet and better nutrition.
Inclusive Rural Livelihoods
We support the development of inclusive rural value chains and empower smallholder farmers to engage profitably, thereby increasing household incomes. Our focus is climate-smart, local economic development strategies that connect women, rural youth, and persons with disabilities to opportunities in farming, off-farm, and non-farm sectors.
Access to clean water
The Waterpoint repairing Programme in Northern Ethiopia is dedicated to addressing the critical water scarcity and inadequate infrastructure faced by rural communities in the region. This programme focuses on repairing and upgrading existing community water points, such as handpumps and protected springs, to ensure uninterrupted access to clean and safe water for drinking, sanitation, and agricultural purposes. It also emphasises community engagement, capacity building, and the promotion of sustainable water management practices to enhance the resilience and well-being of local communities.
Access to sustainable household energy
The Fuel Efficient Stoves Programme is a collaborative initiative between Vita and local partners. It focuses on promoting the use of innovative and sustainable cookstove technologies which are designed to optimise fuel consumption and minimise harmful emissions. The programme encompasses capacity building, awareness campaigns, and strategic partnerships to drive widespread adoption of these cleaner cooking solutions. By promoting the adoption of fuel-efficient stoves, this programme aims to improve energy efficiency, reduce indoor air pollution, mitigate deforestation, and empower local communities, especially women-led associations involved in stove production.
Protecting the environment and taking climate action
Our community-managed land and forest restoration programmes help forests to regenerate, reduce soil erosion, converse water and mitigate climate change by protecting and enhancing trees that sequester carbon.
Projects currently being implemented in Ethiopia include:
Irish Aid, Innovation for Climate Smart Communities in Ethiopia and Eritrea programme, 2024-2028 .
The partnership with Irish Aid on this initiative advances our community-led development and climate-smart technologies, methods, and approaches. The project delivers meaningful economic and social benefits for rural communities most affected by climate change and strengthens long-term resilience, adaptation and mitigation capacities.
The programme will benefit 400,000 people from resource-poor rural communities in Ethiopia and Eritrea, enhancing food security, resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change. It also fosters improved service delivery and supportive policy environments for lasting impact.
The programme leverages on Vita’s expertise in developing effective seed systems in strategic crops (e.g. potato, wheat and hybrid maize), community-led solutions promoting climate-smart technology adoption and behaviour change, and partnerships for innovation.
Read more about our partnership with Irish Aid HERE
CLT-Stoves project (Community-Led Total Adoption of Improved Cookstoves), 2023-2030
After a very successful pilot of the CLT-Stoves approach, Vita is extending the CLT-Stoves programme to reach an additional 200,000 households with fuel efficient cookstoves. The project aims to bring about 100% adoption of improved cookstoves in these villages. The reduction of fuel wood burnt reduces local deforestation, while also reducing harmful emissions from cooking. The project has added benefits for women and children who are disproportionately affected by the use of inefficient cooking methods. Fuel wood collection requires significant daily labour and time, with multiple knock-on effects including school absenteeism and lack of time for other livelihood activities. Vita has established a Community-Led Learning Centre which works closely with the nine village communities, enabling us to further modify and improve our approach in real time.
The Fuel Efficient Stoves Programme represents a concerted effort to address pressing environmental and health challenges associated with traditional cooking methods in East African communities. By promoting the adoption of fuel-efficient stoves, this programme aims to improve energy efficiency, reduce indoor air pollution, mitigate deforestation, and empower local communities, especially women-led associations involved in stove production.
Integrated Forest Landscape Restoration for Livelihood Improvement in the Catchment of Lake Chamo,
The Vita Impact Community Forest Regeneration Programme is a highly innovative and practical response to deforestation in rural Ethiopia. It builds on years of deep, trusted partnership with local communities through the award-winning Clean Cookstove Programme, which helped hundreds of villages cut firewood use by up to 60% through clean, fuel-efficient stoves. Hugely successful, it reduced pressure on forests and paved the way for the next step: large-scale reforestation of degraded communal land. In the Gamo Zone, Vita Impact is now working with communities to turn land once dismissed as barren into thriving forests that restore ecosystems and generate lasting income.
The impact of this programme goes far beyond reforestation. These new forests anchor the soil, stop erosion and improve fertility—bringing tired farmland back to life. They hold water in the landscape, making springs flow longer and steadier. Wildlife returns. Birds nest. Bees pollinate. With the forests come harvests of honey, fruit and fodder. Families diversify their diets and boost their incomes. Young people gain hands-on experience in forestry and land care, opening doors to jobs and independence. These forests are not just environmental assets—they are engines of renewal, strengthening communities from the ground up.
What makes this programme truly stand out is not just the scale—one million trees across 650 hectares in its first phase—but the leadership behind it. Local farmers, women’s groups and young people shape every decision. This is not aid dropped in from above—it’s a grassroots movement, built on trust and driven by the people who depend on the land. With Vita Impact’s support, sustainability is built into every root, every seedling and every plan for the future.
At the core of the programme is the Vita Green Impact Fund (VGIF)— our pioneering model that combines clean energy, reforestation and carbon finance to deliver true climate justice. From reducing emissions through efficient stoves to capturing carbon through trees, VGIF powers a circular system that returns the rewards to those who make it work. Revenue from carbon credits flows directly back to communities, funding more trees and stronger livelihoods. Vita Impact is not just restoring forests—it is growing a fairer, greener future led by the people most impacted and most committed to change.