Our vision for the Yeheb project is to improve the lives of communities in the drylands of the Horn of Africa by restoring the Yeheb plant as a reliable, drought-resistant source of food and fodder. In order to do this, we are working to tackle the issues that caused Yeheb and other valuable species to […]
Improving land, improving lives Yeheb is versatile rare and wild crop which grows well in arid region of the Horn of Africa, a source of food for humans and animals. It is believed to have significant potential for diversifying income and improving the livelihoods of the rural people in the drought zones of the Horn […]
The Yeheb project team is headed by Dr Muna Ismail, Chair of Trustees, with Dr Jose Prieto Garcia, Principal Investigator, Scott Darby and Francis Evans. Lewis Wallis is Patron of the charity.
Our vision is to improve the lives of communities in the drylands of the Horn of Africa, by restoring Yeheb as a reliable, drought-resistant source of food and fodder. In order to do this, we are working with local communities to tackle issues such as overgrazing that have caused Yeheb and other valuable species to become scarce. We are volunteers, seeking to use every pound wisely and to find no-cost and low-cost solutions wherever possible.
The Somali Region Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Research Institute (SoRPARI) is working to conserve and restore the Yeheb plant. Their latest report describes an intervention in the village of Gambarey, in the eastern part of the Somali Region.
The Yeheb project achieved some impoertant milestones in 2023 including registering as a UK charity. During the year, the security situation in Somalia deteriorated and it was no longer possible to travel safely. The project therefore pivoted to the Somali region of Ethiopia, which we hope to visit in 2024.
While researching the potential to restore Yeheb, Dr Muna Ismail found new evidence that if the right conditions are met, Yeheb can be cultivated outside of its natural habitat in arid rangelands. A local man by the name of Huute was inspired to collect yeheb seeds from his native Galmudug region of Somalia, where it was growing wild, and plant them in his garden. See Muna’s video of the results!
On 8th July 2016, Farxaan Maxamed Jimcaale of the BBC Somali World Service interviewed Dr Muna Ismail. They discussed the benefits of the Yeheb plant for drought-prone areas in Somalia and Horn of Africa. You can hear the interview (in Somali) on the BBB website.
In December I spent three weeks in Somaliland, testing the possibility of restoring and domesticating Yeheb, a food and fodder crop which grows well in very dry conditions. It is one of those plants that has not found enough interest outside its indigenous habitat. Historically Yeheb used to flourish in the Haud or Savannah pastoralist […]
In December 2015, project leader Dr Muna Ismail made a second journey to Somaliland. Her aim was to plant Yeheb seeds and seedlings at sites that had been identified during the scoping mission earlier in the year. Together, Muna and our local partners managed to reintroduce Yeheb to six sites, exhibiting different habitats and levels of rainfall.
In 2011 there was a massive drought in the Horn of Africa. It was the worst drought in 60 years and Millions of people were affected across the region. There was a serious food crisis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya; all within the Somali inhabited areas. Hundred thousands fled from Southern Somalia in search […]