Ethiopia: Utilizing Solar and Wind Power Energy

The old all you can eat buffet technology and careless consumption is now going on a diet. The financial disaster of the past couple of years have taught many people to live with in their means of income. Companies and individuals are trying to find out ways to cut their expenses and save money. As a result, many entrepreneurs are coming up with great green solutions. Out of the many green solutions, I am most interested in are the following:

• Solar Power Energy
• Wind Power Energy, and
• Wave Power Energy

Solar and Wind Power Energies are abundantly available in Ethiopia and all over Africa. I believe that it is just a matter of time for the African countries to catch up with these technologies. Israel, Denmark and Germany are great example countries for innovative utilization of solar and wind energy.

Wave energy is too complicated and expensive for even developed countries like Canada to undertake.

No wonder that I was excited when I read that Ethiopia was working on a Wind Power Energy project.

State electricity company Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is considering an ambitious proposal for the construction of a 300 MW wind farm in eastern Ethiopia near the Djibouti border.

The Ayisha Wind Power Project is a planned joint venture of foreign and Ethiopian companies led by Dr Peer Ederer of Germany, director of the Human Capital Center at the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, and scientific director of the European Food and Agribusiness Seminar. It has an estimated cost of $600 million, to be covered by a combination of funding from the African Development Bank and private capital.

The idea is to use local skills and resources as much as possible and to this end three local Ethiopian firms and engineering students at Mekelle, Bahir Dar, Adama and Addis Ababa universities are expected to participate in the technical and technological aspects of the project.

If it goes as planned, the wind farm could be developed within three years and Ederer says, “there are also plans to establish a wind turbine production industry in Ethiopia under the auspices of the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ)”.

EEPCo is currently developing a 120 MW wind power project in the Ashegoda area in the northern Tigray state and has plans for other smaller projects in other parts of the country.

Until now, Ethiopia has relied on hydropower to meet its energy needs but following a rapid increase in demand in recent years this has proved to be inadequate.

Do you have any favoured green technology? Is there any green technology you can take with you to Africa? Share with us.

My next blog entry will be on Thursday August 19, 2010.

Mullkam Samint!

Come Out and Celebrate Ethiopian Day on August 28, 2010 in Burnaby, BC

Last weekend (July 25-26), the Caribbean Festival in North Vancouver took place. I wrote about that event in my earlier post.

The Caribbean Festival in North Vancouver is a great example that shows how a small group of people can accomplish myriads of work. We Ethiopians should learn from other minority groups in town on how we can collaborate on a variety of projects and events. We, as a community, have been living in the lower mainland as permanent residents since the mid 1970’s. However, our presence is not felt at any level.

We must work together for the betterment of our community. For instance, the Somali community started coming to Canada and USA in the 1990’s, some 15 years after our community settled in Canada. Ethiopians have been coming for education and trade to the USA since the 1900’s – yes for more than 100 years now, but still the Ethiopian community in the USA is not as strong as it should be. However, the Somali community is way stronger than the Ethiopian community. Even though I don’t endorse all the illegal activities and rude behaviours that the Somalis are famous for, I admire and envy their closeness as a community.

When it comes to the Somalis’ community, we must and need to be like them – however, we must avoid their other negative personalities. I am not generalizing that all Somalis have bad personalities. This is my only experience and I am not painting all Somalis with the same brush.

The vast majority of Ethiopians are very law abiding people. So, if one is a decent citizen, then what makes it so difficult to be united under the community umbrella? I hope to explain this in the future. Also, anyone is welcome to submit an article explaining why we failed as a community so far.

The new Ethiopian Community of BC directors have planned a great event this August. It will be “The First Annual Ethiopian Summer Festival” and will be held in Burnaby, BC on August 28, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

For Google Map, please click here

For Google Street View, please click here

I am really excited that our community leaders have organized this event. It is way overdue. This is the first annual event in 35 plus years! I wish every one a great time and I thank the organizing committee from the bottom of my heart.

I look forward to seeing you all at the event.

My next blog entry will be on Thursday August 05, 2010.

Mullkam Samint!

Ethiopians: Come Out And Celebrate The Caribbean Day Festival In North Vancouver

In my previous post, I wrote about the Surrey Fusion Festival. I attended this fusion event. Again, it was a great event with many nations participating. I was sad, as last year, that Ethiopia was not represented. This year, South Africa and Nigeria were there.

I was also disappointed at the number of Ethiopians who attended. In my count, there were less than 10 Ethiopians. Such events are great and I encourage all to come out and participate.

At this fusion festival event, I met some Sudanese Nubians, who are already working to participate in the 2011 fusion Festival – great to hear that. I am hoping that the Ethiopian community of BC will participate next year.

Ethiopia Hopes to Qualify for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil After Signing a New Coach

The 2010 FIFA Wold Cup has come and gone. What a great feast of soccer it was!

I love soccer very much and was able to watch most of the world cup games. Most of the time, there were 3 or 2 games a day, and usually at odd hours of the day, like 4:30AM, 7:30AM and 11:30AM Pacific. It was very challenging to watch the games live due to the time differences, however, thanks to CBC Video On Demand services, I was able to watch the games at http://www.cbc.ca

Ghana gave Africa its best shot, but thanks to crazy FIFA rules, they were out too early. I believe that FIFA needs to change its rules when it comes to such very decisive games as the world cup. Ghana’s last minute shot that was unfairly blocked by the Uruguay’s defender hand from getting behind the net, was an obvious goal – in my eyes, such cheap plays must not be allowed and instead it should be assumed as a goal. Well, that is history for now, just wanted for Ghana to win and trying to vent here.

God willing, we will be able to see the next world cup in 2014 in Brazil.

Encouraged by great African soccer team performances in South Africa, Ethiopia has made a good step towards improving its soccer standing, or may be perhaps qualify for the 2014 FIFA games in Brazil, by hiring a new coach.

Ethiopia’s New Coach

Yes, Ethiopia has hired a great coach. His name is Iffy Onoura, 42, a Glasgow native, with a UEFA Pro licence, and graduate of Bradford University. He is a no non-sense, high tempered, British, who is always focused on getting the job done.

Photo: Iffy Onoura, the new Ethiopian soccer coach

Is Addis Ababa Really One of the Cheapest Cities in the World for Expats?

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, has been ranked as one of the cheapest cities in the world by Mercer’s 2010 Cost of Living Survey.

Mercer’s Top 50 expensive cities are found here.

Addis Ababa is ranked at 208th position out of the 214 cities surveyed. According to the survey, “the cost of housing – often the biggest expense for expats – plays an important part in determining where cities are ranked”. Based on this fact, I expected Addis Ababa to be in the top 20.

Please keep in mind that the survey is for expatriates, not for local people. Typical expats in Addis Ababa include embassy officials, NGO employees and those in other similar positions.

I must say that I do not agree with the report when it comes to Addis Ababa. How can Addis Ababa be one of the cheapest cities in the world? A decent family home, say, 6 bed room house with 2,200 sq. ft with 7,000 sq. ft lot is going for $200,000 to 700,000 USD depending on the location of the property. You can check house for sale and rental prices at Ezega’s website.

The exchange rate for $1 USD is about $13.75 EBR (Ethiopian Birr).

Ethiopians: Be Part of the Fusion Festival in Surrey

Happy Canada Day to everyone!

Last year, I attended a great event in Surrey, called “Fusion Festival”. It was a great event as there were many fusions of nations that participated. There were countries from Asia, Europe, Caribbeans and South America. The only African nation that participated was Kenya despite Ethiopians numbering at least ten times the population of Kenyans in the lower mainland.

At that event, each country had its own two tents – one tent was to sell food, cultural items, etc. and the next door tent was basically an information booth about that particular group. Despite the few thousand of us Ethiopians living in the Vancouver area, we did not have a presence at the event. I really felt bad that we Ethiopians in diaspora are still half sleep, perhaps, I should say fully asleep.

Subscribe to Every Website You Want Without Giving Your Real Email Address

If you are like me, you spend some time a day scouring the Internet. Chances are you have come across some cool websites and wanted to get more information, perhaps a download or two. But, the website wants your email address before you get the info! You want to access the info, but you’re not quite sure if you want to give out your email address.

The website’s form asks you to enter your email address, and you will need to confirm by going back to your email address. Then your will be able to get your login credentials. Well, this is something you will not be able to avoid.

But the part that really annoys me is the need to submit my email address to yet another third party, whose address is sometimes unknown.

Using Gmail

If you use Gmail for an email, you might be able to play with your email address by entering a different version of your email account when you sign up at a website so that to find out who is selling your address. For example, if your email address was NoSpam{@}gmail.com, then Gmail would work in many combinations like these:

Meet Ethiopian Role Model Entrepreneur – Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

Old truck tyres never die, they just turn into sandals

What do you do with your old tyre from your car or truck? Chances are you will throw it out in the garbage. No wait! Some one wants it! Yes, a young Ethiopian entrepreneur has made a carrier for herself, and 50 plus of her employees.

Meet an Ethiopian role model – Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu – who has combined the Internet’s selling power with nimble business practices more often associated with Asian countries, the idea has been turned into an unlikely international hit. Bethlehem, 30, quit her job as an accountant, to launch Sole Rebels.

Her company, Sole-Rebels, has received an International Fair Trade Certification. This means, she pays her employees decent wages, and follows labour codes. Even her employees have health benefit packages.

Bethlehm’s success has allowed her to expand and construct a solar-powered factory, adjacent to her old factory.

Her suppliers deliver old truck tyres and tubes to her factory; and she has hired women to spin, weave and dye locally-grown cotton, jute and hemp using skills passed down through generations. The results have been astonishing. Sole-Rebels thrived in the global market with no outside support, other than a government line of credit to help meet large orders.

Workers at Bethlehem’s SoleRebels factory — located in the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa — cut, sew and glue to fulfil Internet purchases from customers as far away as Canada and Australia.

Photo: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, co-founder of SoleRebels,
eco-friendly footwear company from Ethiopia, is highlighted
in this week’s CNN’s African Voices. (Screen shot from CNN)

Bethlehem has sold many thousands of pairs of handmade flip-flops, boat shoes, loafers and Converse-style trainers to foreign customers.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

The 19th FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa from June 11 to July 11, 2010. The World Cup is a premier international football / soccer tournament.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams.

This will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa beat Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process.

Italy as the defending champions, and South Africa as a host nation are automatically qualified. The rest 30 countries qualified after beating their regional competitors.

The total 32 countries participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup are:

Tips on How to Choose Secure Passwords for your Online Accounts

I thought about writing this post after my cousin was tricked by a Nigerian Phishing Scam, as I reported last week.

In this post, I try to list some basic requirements in order to select secure passwords, keeping in mind that the chosen passwords can easily be remembered, and are secure.

Passwords are the key to many systems and applications. Your password helps to prove who you are, ensure your privacy, and protect the privacy of data you may have access to.

Compromised passwords are one of the means by which unauthorized people gain access to a system. Someone logging on under your name has access not only to your computer files, but may also have access to your personal information (e.g. financial info, social insurance number, bank information, and any other sensitive information) and may impersonate you to send malicious e-mails.

It’s important to choose a strong password and protect it as there are many password-cracking programs readily available on the Internet.  A strong password makes it reasonably difficult to guess the password in a short period of time by humans or by automated password cracking programs.

So, how do you choose a secure password and how do you protect it?

50 Worst of the Worst (and Most Common) Job Interview Mistakes

The world economic meltdown has affected everyone around the world. Canada has not been immune to this never ending problem. USA has been hammered by economic disasters. Europe is now going through a difficult time; in particular Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy. Perhaps, more countries could be affected in the coming months.

To the contrary, I have not heard such economic problems coming from developing countries. Eastern Europeans seem to be doing fine. Asian countries are okay, perhaps with the exception of japan. Africans are okay. South Americans are fine.

So, I kept asking myself why these economic collapses are taking place in developed countries? I am not an economist, but I guess that most in the west have been living beyond their means, and the financial systems encouraged all to “have it all” attitude and indulge in debts. The results of such gluttony have been too disastrous and embarrassing to witness.

When times are tough, jobs are hard to come by. This means a lot of people are out of work and are now trying to find employment.

I thought the article below, written by Karen Burns, might be very helpful for all looking for that interview. But, many make huge mistakes before, during and after the interview; and I hope that this list will help you connect with an employer.

Visible Minorities in Canada

Canada is a great country to live in. It is blessed with natural resources. It is one of the few countries that allows other nations to come and live in its land. Canada has given me the opportunity to learn not only about Canada, but also about all the other cultures who have settled here. I am proud to call Canada my home and father land, and Ethiopia as my mother land.

Labels
One of the things I like about the English language is that, it is rich in vocabulary and any thing could be given a name and/or labelled. However, out of all the labels, there is one phrase I detest very much – it is the phrase, “visible minority“. This phrase has bothered me very much for many years.

What is Visible Minority?
Statistics Canada takes its definition of a “visible minority” from the federal Employment Equity Act, which is “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.”

I understand the fact that the phrase, “visible minority” is not a racist phrase. Yes, as an African living in Canada, that makes me a minority. But, do I have to be labelled as “visible minority”?

Sending Money to Ethiopia

Sending money oversees is way to complicated! But, does it have to be? If you are sending money, for instance, to Europe from Canada or US, then you have many choices:

• Money Orders – via banks, post office, etc.
• Cash Transfers – via agents like Western Union, etc.
• Bank Transfers – via banks in wires, cheques, drafts, etc.

These services are very expensive both to the sender and recipient. The sender pays outrageous service fees and the recipient also gets dinged service fees in addition to lower exchange rates.

Photo: 1985 Ethiopian Gold Coin – showing a value of $400 Birr – worth a lot more at the present!

But, if you are sending money to Ethiopia, your options are limited. Most people in North America send money to Ethiopia using local licensed agencies rather than big corporations. These local agencies are mostly run by other fellow Ethiopians.

The service fees by the corporations are way to high, and also small local agencies give you the best exchange rates.

Installing and Using Amharic Software in Windows 7

Microsoft recently released Windows 7, which included Amharic and many other African languages. I did cover that story in my post, entitled, “Microsoft to Release Windows 7 in Amharic, Ethiopian National Language, and Nine Other African Languages“, which you can read by clicking here.

I have not upgraded to Windows 7 yet, so I don’t have a personal experience to write my own review on how the system works and how good or bad it is.

Because many people have shown a great deal of interest in the Amharic system, I did a little bit of research and have found the following information:

The Battle of Adwa and the Defeat of Fascist Italy – March 2, 1896

On March 2, 1896, Ethiopia accomplished no other Africans have ever done – Ethiopia was able to defeat Fascist Italy that crossed its boundaries for the purpose of looting and colonization.

On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, Ethiopia marked the 114th anniversary of the Battle of Adwa Victory. So, I decided to write a post about it. Ethiopia was the first and only country in Africa that defeated European colonial power during the ‘scramble for Africa’ rush.

Ethiopia, under Emperor Menelik II, decimated the invading Italian army at the northern town of Adwa. That victory became a symbol of independence and pride for all black people around the World, specially Africans. The victory was sweeter for African Americans, who were fighting racism in America at the time. The victory of Adwa was a huge event, and still it is in the minds of Ethiopians and Africans.

Because of Ethiopia’s triumph over Italy, many African nations have adopted Ethiopia’s flag (Green, Yellow, Red) in its various combinations.

From The archives of the New York Times on The Battle of Adwa.

Click on the links below to read from the New York Times Archives:

• ITALY’S TERRIBLE DEFEAT – Three thousand Men Killed, Sixty Guns and All Provisions Lost (March 4, 1896)
• ABYSSINIANS DEFEAT ITALIANS – Both Wings of Baratieri’s Army Enveloped in an Energetic Attack (On March 2, 1896)

The above two news articles from 1896 are a must read and remind us all that we should never take our freedom for granted; and continue our best to cherish our freedom.

Related Video

Haile Gerima’s Video regarding Adwa is found here.

Thank you very much our forefathers for paying the ultimate sacrifice to save Ethiopia!

My next blog entry will be on Thursday March 11, 2010

Mullkam Samint!

Vancouver Winter 2010 Olympics Games Free Events

Olympics – whether Winter or Summer – is a great event.

Ethiopia has been participating in the summer Olympics for nearly 50 years now. Ethiopia has opened the floodgates for all Africans to participate in the Olympics.

I am very proud of the accomplishments of Ethiopian athletes. In the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, Ethiopia sent 12 athletes, and came home with 8 medals – that is by far the best a country could hope for. However, Canada did send 425 Olympians to Sydney, but came back with nothing. I remember the media hammering the Canadian Olympic Committee by comparing them to Ethiopians. Canada’s low performance in 2000 was improved in 2004 in Athens and again in 2008 in Beijing.

Ethiopians Now Eligible for USA H-2A and H-2B Non Immigrant Visas

Immigrating to the West is many nations’ dream. Ethiopians are no exception. In the past two decades, tens of thousands of Ethiopians have immigrated to the USA after winning the DV Lottery.

Many have come to Canada as refugees and after qualifying in family class category.

Professor Ephraim Isaac Extends his Greetings, Appeals for Unity of All Ethiopians

The year 2009 is now behind us. What a year it was! We witnessed many dramatic events in the last year around the world, Ethiopia included. Some events were very sad, some very stupid and some needed to happen.

Now, we must accept the year 2010 with great appreciation and positive outlook. The New Year celebration has triggered an Ethiopian Harvard Professor Ephraim Isaac to appeal to all Ethiopians …

He asks, “Why are we stuck on the philosophical values of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Marx? Why not respect and uphold the teachings of peace and reconciliation of our own wise teachers like, Zar’a Ya’aqob, Kristos Samra, Abba Gedas, and others?”

Microsoft to Release Windows 7 in Amharic, Ethiopian National Language, and Nine Other African Languages

Ethiopia, the second most populous nation in Africa (after Nigeria) has a population of 80 million this year (2009). There are 84 languages (these are totally different languages) and more than 200 dialects in Ethiopia. However, Amharic remains Ethiopia’s national language. It is estimated that 50% of the population speak Amharic (as first language and second language speakers).

Although Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, its languages did not develop fully to express scientific words and phrases. Many attempts to translate text books into Amharic failed miserably.

So, English remains the primary business language of Ethiopia; and all subjects are taught in English from grade 7 and above, including colleges and universities.

Until recently, Geez fonts were not available in Microsoft Office packages. We had to buy and download the fonts from Ethiopian programmers’ websites. The idea of buying Geez fonts has made me very upset over the years. Mind you … when all the rich nations were getting free fonts, but poor Ethiopians, other Africans and Asians were subjected to really expensive charges just to get fonts.

The Contribution of Ethiopia and Other African Nations for World Peace During the WWII

Last week, I published a post regarding Remembrance Day.

This week, I came across an article by BBC regarding the over 1.3 million African troops that helped fight Nazis and Fascists. The article, written by Martin Plaut, BBC Africa analyst, shows Africa’s contribution to World Peace during the Second World War by fighting aggressive invaders with in Africa and even going to Europe fighting the Nazis and the Fascists.

Thanks to Martin Plaut and the BBC for brining this to its readers’ attention. I hope that the West will remember Africa’s forgotten soldiers and patriots, who fought for World Peace side by side with peace loving nations.

Ethiopian Patriot Jagamo Kello (shown in the middle) left home at just 15 to fight Italian invaders
Photo Circa 1936

Just How Big is the Internet? Let us Print the Entire Internet, Honey!

In addition to my ramblings about Ethiopian related socio-economic and political issues, I plan to write a maximum of one Internet /webmaster related post each month. All tech posts are scheduled to be published on the third Thursday of the month.

Therefore, today, as my first tech post, I just want to start by writing about the size of the Internet.

I launched this blog on September 10, 2009, just in time for the Ethiopian New Year. My first post was entitled, “Happy Ethiopian New Year to All!”. I published a few more posts after that – To Buy a House or Not to Buy (Parts 1), To Buy a House or Not to Buy (Parts 2), To Buy a House or Not to Buy (Parts 3),  Thanksgiving and the Ethiopian Community of British Columbia (ECBC). Now it is time for a technology post, which I am very much interested in.

Before I start talking about how big the Internet is, I just want to say a few words about the history of Internet in the Vancouver area.

Happy Ethiopian New Year to All

Happy New Year to All Ethiopians!

Tomorrow, September 11, 2009, will be the Ethiopian New Year (Enqutatash in Amharic) or R’ise Awde Amet (Head Anniversary) in the ancient language of Ethiopia, Geez.

Yes, September 11, 2009 will be the first day of the first month of the year 2002. Ethiopia is about 7 years, 3 months and 20 days behind the official Gregorian Calendar in use in North America, Europe, and most countries around the world. Ethiopia has 13 months in a year; 12 months of 30 days each, with the 13th month having only 5 days (6 days in a leap year, which takes place every 4 years).