Jacaylbaro Posted March 11, 2011 BBC Africa Editor Mary Harper describes how she came to report on a remarkable green field dairy farm in the middle of the desert in a rejuvenated Somaliland. I didn’t believe a word Abdullah Farah was saying when he first told me about his farm. I had met him by chance in the Man-Soor Hotel while reporting for Assignment in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland – a dry, arid territory that broke away from Somalia 20 years ago and classed by the BBC as a ‘hostile environment’. Like so many Somalilanders, Abdullah had fled the territory during a civil war in the 1980s. He ended up as a refugee in Canada, where, from nothing, he built up a lucrative business. But he had returned to his homeland to set up what he told me was the “Green Valley Dairy Farm”. Desert oasis I’m sorry to say that I laughed at him and joked that he was living in some kind of fantasy land because I could never imagine such a thing in Somaliland. On my journey through the territory, I had seen hardly any green vegetation and certainly no dairy cows. Just camels and goats. He asked if I’d like to visit and I couldn’t resist, so the next day we set off early in the morning in his dusty jeep. We flew across the sand at great speed, bouncing and leaping across territory that is still being cleared of the hundreds of thousands of landmines planted there during the civil war. Suddenly, in stark contrast to the sandy landscape, appeared an expanse of bright green. I thought I had seen a mirage, but there, built amongst the lush fields, was a green cowshed, full of black and white dairy cows. Somaliland pioneers Mr Farah didn’t know anything about farming when he started the project, but he wanted to produce fresh milk in Somaliland because many people, including his father, suffer from weak bones caused by calcium deficiency. “I learned all of this from the internet,” he said, laughing. His can-do attitude and spirit of adventure was something I encountered a lot in Somaliland, especially amongst those people who had returned from exile overseas. I came to think of them as the ‘Somaliland pioneers’. Boom town Somaliland doesn’t have access to big international loans because it doesn’t officially exist as a country. Its government is poor and weak, but business people and local communities are rebuilding Somaliland from the rubble of war. Twenty years ago, Hargeisa was called the ‘Dresden of Africa’ – the city had been flattened by systematic aerial bombardment by Somali government forces. Now it is a boom town and many of the roads, bridges, schools and hospitals have been built with private money. Some Somalilanders have contributed millions of dollars, others perhaps a camel, a goat or a few shillings. Read Full Story with Photos: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/worldagenda/2011/03/110308_worldagenda_somaliland_dairy.shtml Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ibtisam Posted March 11, 2011 Jb, I want to see this place- write it down in your growing list of places to take me Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted March 11, 2011 ............... get ready Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ibtisam Posted March 11, 2011 ^I hope it is not, afar bilcil iyo two cows after this build up :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted March 11, 2011 I don't know dee , haven't been to that place and don't even know where it is ..................... waynu wada raadin doonaa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NGONGE Posted March 11, 2011 Heh@waynu wada raadin doonaa. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted March 11, 2011 Where is the farm JB? Ibti and Ngonge don't know their way around Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacaylbaro Posted March 11, 2011 Waar i don't even know ............... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted March 11, 2011 Gabiley probably. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Archdemos Posted March 11, 2011 why is it a miracle? i've seen many farms and green areas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedSea Posted March 11, 2011 ^People from the west think somaliland is like North African Desert. Our country is naturally grassland or savanah but people burning trees as source of charcoal made it seem like a desert. Also if the land is not maintained i.e planting trees, stoping defrostation, creating areas for wild habitat and such the land is doomed to become arid and uninhabitable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Som@li Posted March 11, 2011 Mesha tag oo Sawira ka soo qaad... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saalax Posted March 12, 2011 It's in Gabiley. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wiil Cusub Posted March 12, 2011 Must be big farm to see on Google maps Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
