Rick Steves's Blog, page 29

Ethiopian Camel Boys Take Their Herd to Market

Driving through Tigray in the north of Ethiopia, we encountered a long line of camels walking to Khartoum (in Sudan, about 400 miles away), where these beasts of burden will fetch a huge price at the market. Throughout my Ethiopia trip, I noticed parallels to medieval Europe and the Wild West of the USA. Rather than cowboys taking their herd to market, this herd was run by camel boys.

 

Climate-Smart Agriculture at an Ethiopian Farmers Training Center

I just visited Ethiopia, on a mission to learn about smart development. I’ll be sharing a sampling of my travels here over the next week — and stay tuned for my new one-hour special, “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope,” airing on public television across the US this November.

Join me now in this clip at a Farmers Training Center (FTC) in Tigray, in the north of Ethiopia. It takes a proactive government to help a poor country develop — and one reason why Ethiopia is becoming a model for Af...

Reflections on Notre-Dame

The beloved Notre-Dame is like the needle upon which Paris spins — historically, culturally, geographically, and religiously — and it has been, for eight centuries. It was built by generations of Parisians who dedicated their lives to the project, knowing they would never live to see it finished. Sitting on the sacred ground of the earliest Parisians, upon the ruins of a pagan temple — and having survived wars, revolutions, and other fires through the ages — there’s no doubt it will be repair...

A Ravine of Your Broken Dreams

I’m in Ethiopia with my crew, filming an upcoming hour-long special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’ve been grateful for the chance to be able to incorporate scenes I’ve always wanted to share. For example, when poverty drives people from the countryside into a big city, they often end up living in ravines that the city considers unsafe. The desperate don’t have the luxury of living a bus ride away from their employment — that would eat up a big chunk of their meager in...

Ethiopian Coffee?

I’m in Ethiopia, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’ve been learning a lot about smart development. Coffee is the biggest export here, but it only generates $700 million a year — not much for a teeming country of 100 million people. Ethiopians would like to add a little value to their coffee by exporting it roasted, but the developed world makes it tough for the developing world to add value. We like our imported materials raw — so we can make t...

Mountains of Sugar

We’re halfway through our shoot for an upcoming new special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’ve been thinking about something that people in the developing world have told me: “Globalism is a big train. Get on it or get run over.”

With uniform quality, smart branding, and lots of infrastructure, countries like Guatemala are competing in the global market. And with that, comes development. Join me in this clip as I explore a giant sugar plant, filled with mountains of sug...

Think About This the Next Time You Put Sugar in Your Cereal

I’m in Guatemala with my crew, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’m learning a lot.

Sugar is big here. And it takes infrastructure, like this giant sugarcane mill, to mulch a 24/7 parade of truckloads of sugarcane and process it all into sugar. This is what progress and smart development look like.

Education — Guatemala Style

I have a lot of love and respect for teachers.

Here in Guatemala, we’re learning how critical an educated workforce is to development. Today, we dropped in on a delightful village school, where Diego was inspiring his students — the future of Guatemala.

I’m here with my crew, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope.” It will air this November on public television across the US.

Drone Photography at the Goat Love Shack

We’re in Guatemala, filming an upcoming special about how modern development aid is helping 700 million people work their way out of extreme poverty — and we’re showing how non-governmental organizations and supportive governments are helping small farmers get into the production chain and join the global economy. Why just grow corn when you can take advantage of a goat reproduction center and get a little goat-dairy income, too?

In this clip, you can see the fine art of coaching people who’v...

Guatemala: Development and Diversity

Living in such wild affluence as we do in the USA, it’s hard to imagine the world norms. More than 700 million people are in extreme poverty, trying to live on less than $2 a day. I don’t want to romanticize poverty — but I was struck by this humble home and wanted to share it with you. Moving out of “extreme poverty” and into just “poverty” comes with a concrete floor, electricity, water, an efficient fireplace, and a little dignity. Take a look.

I’m here with my crew, filming an upcoming s...