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. Yeheb is a wild shrub or small tree which grows well in arid regions. It is a traditional source of food for humans and animals, also of dyes and even building material. 

Over-exploitation over decades means that yeheb is now classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of species. It can still be found in the wild in a few remote areas on the Ethiopia-Somalia border. The Yeheb Project has established a conservation area near the village of Walwaal, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, where the plants are being grown successfully. Our aim is to domesticate yeheb, significantly improving the lives of the people in this region by providing food security and a source of income for generations to come. This should also have the effect or reducing pressure on the wild population, allowing it to recover. 

The Yeheb Project is a UK registered charity and accredited with the UNCCD. Our main local partners are SoRLARI, the Somali Region Livestock and Agricultural Research Insititute, part of the Somali Regional State Agriculture Bureau. In the community we work with the Rajo Cooperative of Walwaal village. We seek to respect and build on the wisdom of local people in all that we do, guided by their deep understanding of the environment in which they live. 

We also aim to connect individuals and communities across clan and national boundaries through this work, since yeheb was once found across the whole of the Haud Plateau which covers parts of present-day Ethiopia, Somaliland and Somalia.

The Yeheb Project seeks to benefit the lives of local people in the villages where we work.  We would welcome partnerships with charities bringing expertise in different areas, particularly  water supply, education and rural electrification. 

The Yeheb Project

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The Yeheb Project

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