After spending the night camping in a Hamer village, we were up early driving west towards the town of Omorate. Situated only a few kilometres from the Kenyan border, we made the side trip to see and learn about the Dassanech people. After making our way across the Omo river in a dugout canoe we were quite surprised at how quickly the landscape changed from lush greenery along the river banks, to desolate and vast desert. After walking for what seemed like ages in the midday heat (it was HOT) we arrived at a village. It was quite different to the Hamer village we had previously stayed in, with the huts made from what looked like reclaimed materials such as corrugated iron.
Our stay was unfortunately only short, but it was incredibly interesting to see the differences not only between the two tribes we had now seen, but how the landscape and surrounds influenced the livelihoods of the different villages.
next: Dimeka
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| crossing the omo river |
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| andrew and a new friend escorting us through the desert |
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| girls taking water back to their village |
Your photos are always amazing! The portraits that you take have so much character. How do you get so involved with the local culture? I'd love to do more of that when I travel.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'll be compiling a wrap-up once I've finished sharing all my photos and will let you know all the details on the logistics of visiting the Omo valley and villages etc.
DeleteDassanech people clearly have an interesting way to build their houses. Corrugated iron is used in many parts of the world, but I haven't seen it used the way Dassanech people use it.
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