Local Knowledge of Plants and Their Uses Among Women in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia Matthew W

Local Knowledge of Plants and their uses among Women in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia Matthew W. Luizza, Heather Young, Christina Kuroiwa, Paul Evangelista, Aserat Worede, Rainer W. Bussmann, and Amber Weimer Research Abstract Women’s local ecological knowledge (LEK) is noted by primary collectors and sellers of wild edible mushrooms many scholars to be unique and important for local con- world-wide (Garibay-Orijel et al. 2012), and gender-based servation and development planning. Although LEK inte- ethnobotanical practices existing with many aboriginal gration is inherent to ethnobotanical research, in Ethiopia, Australian groups (Sky 1995). Despite the inherent com- the knowledge-gender link has not been fully explored, plexity of local knowledge, many published studies have and few studies focus on women’s distinct plant knowl- not fully explored the importance of women’s unique plant edge. We catalogued rural women’s knowledge of a wide knowledge (Pfeiffer & Butz 2005), albeit with notable ex- range of plant uses in south-central Ethiopia, conducted ceptions (Camou-Guerrero et al. 2008, Figueiredo et al. through picture identification of 337 local plants. Fifty- 1993, Flintan 2000, Garibay-Orijel et al. 2012, Ponderosa seven plant species were identified, constituting 38 fami- et al. 2012, Sky 1995, Voeks 2007, Voeks & Leony 2004). lies, with the top five families being Lamiaceae, Solana- This “lack of gender consciousness” (Garibay-Orijel et al. ceae, Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Pteridaceae. An array 2012:10) is important to address, as women’s distinct un- of uses were identified ranging from food, livestock and derstanding of local flora can arguably afford researchers wildlife forage, to honey production and cosmetics. The with a more complete understanding of biodiversity of a most prevalent use noted (nearly 70%) was human medi- given landscape, and provide a more holistic understand- cine. This study reveals the important contribution of rural women’s plant knowledge in the Bale Mountains, and the potential benefits of including this gender-distinct understanding of local flora in community-based conservation planning. Correspondence Matthew W. Luizza and Paul Evangelista, Natural Resource Introduction Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1499, U.S.A. Local ecological knowledge, or “knowledge held by a spe- [email protected] Heather Young, Larimer County Natural Resources, Fort Col- cific group of people about their local ecosystems” (Ols- lins, Colorado 80521, U.S.A. son & Folke 2001) is argued to be dynamic and hetero- Christina Kuroiwa, Hartshorn Health Center, Colorado State geneous, varying across occupations (Crona 2006), age University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, U.S.A. groups (da Silva Sousa et al. 2012), gender (Figueire- Aserat Worede, Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris, PO Box 3658 Ad- do et al. 1993, Garibay-Orijel et al. 2012), or a mixture dis Ababa, ETHIOPIA. of these specific variables (Ponderosa et al. 2012) and Rainer W. Bussmann, William L. Brown Center, Missouri Bo- other socio-economic, socio-cultural, and biogeographi- tanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-0299, cal factors (Mafimisebi et al. 2012, Schunko et al. 2012, U.S.A. Amber Weimer, Department of Biology, Colorado State Univer- Toledo et al. 2009). Acknowledgment of the knowledge- sity, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878, U.S.A. gender link is critical, as distinctions can be found coming out of culturally defined roles and divisions of labor, in- Ethnobotany Research & Applications 11:315-339 (2013) cluding women’s unique ethnomycological knowledge, as Published: 30 December, 2013 www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol11/i1547-3465-11-315.pdf 316 Ethnobotany Research & Applications ing of community priorities for conservation and sustain- edge and perspectives because they are greatly under- able management approaches. represented in the literature, but are the primary family caretakers in Ethiopian culture. This study, thus affords We explored the local ethnobotanical knowledge of wom- access to knowledge about how plants are used in a en in the rural town of Dinsho, located in the Bale Moun- range of different activities that may be overlooked by re- tains in south-central Ethiopia. These mountains are well search that does not explore the knowledge-gender link. known for their high concentration of biodiversity and en- Such an approach has proven fruitful in other regions, in- demic species, but there remains limited understanding of cluding women’s knowledge of a number of edible plants the local plant knowledge. With rapid population growth previously catalogued as “weeds” in the American south- in the highlands and rural people’s dependence on natu- west (Bean & Lawton 1993), and distinct medicinal plant ral resources across Ethiopia, cataloguing and preserv- knowledge of women in Borneo (Gollin 2001). This study ing local ethnobotanical knowledge is critical for future thus, seeks to provide preliminary findings on the extent of community-based conservation efforts. Ethiopia’s flora, local women’s knowledge of a broad array of plant uses in comprised of approximately 6,000 higher plant species the Bale Mountains, and the potential benefits that a gen- (Hedberg et al. 2009), is essential to human well-being dered understanding of ethnobotanical knowledge can and ecological diversity, but is increasingly threatened by hold for local conservation. a range of anthropogenic pressures. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) lists a number of important and linked environmental issues facing Ethiopia, Study Area including water access and availability, livestock and land Our study was conducted in the town of Dinsho located in degradation, and threats to biodiversity and endemism the Oromia Region at the northern edge of the Bale Moun- (UNEP 2008). These long-standing problems have acute tains National Park (BMNP) (Figure 1). The elevation of impacts on plant communities, and are further heightened by a rapidly growing rural population. Some 85% of Ethio- Dinsho is about 3,200 m with mean annual temperatures pians live in rural areas, with the vast majority of these ranging from 2.4 to 15.5 C°. Precipitation for the area av- people (approximately 90%) living in the highlands and erages 1,219 mm annually (Assefa et al. 2010), and has dependent on small-scale, rain-fed subsistence agricul- a bimodal distribution pattern with the “small rains” called ture (Zeleke 2010). Furthermore, between 70 and 80 per- belg occurring from February to May and the “big rains” cent of the population depend on traditional plant-derived called kiremt occurring from August to October. There are medicine for their primary healthcare (Abebe 1986, As- approximately 3,000 residents in the town of Dinsho (Pop- sefa et al. 2010). ulation Census Commission 2008) predominately of Oro- mo heritage, the main ethnic group of Ethiopia’s southern Moreover, we have found no records or studies in the re- highlands. Traditionally the Oromo people are agro-pasto- gion that explore women’s ethnobotanical knowledge and ralists and small-scale subsistence farmers that cultivate use of plants as part of their livelihoods. A review of four wheat and barley as a dietary staple and cash crop. To a major ethnobotany peer-reviewed journals revealed thirty- lesser extent, cattle, goats and sheep are kept by most nine ethnobotanical studies specific to Ethiopia, spanning households. During the months of cultivation, the livestock forty-six years (1966-2012). Although contributing greatly are moved into open areas within BMNP where they are to the broader literature, a majority of studies only look grazed until the end of harvest (FZS 2007, Stephens et al. at a single plant use category, with 26 articles (approxi- 2001). The region is also an area of high biodiversity, with mately 67%) looking at medicinal plants, eight articles rare endemic species including the endangered mountain (approximately 20%) looking at local knowledge of food nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni: Evangelista et al. 2007) and plants (wild and cultivated), and three articles (approxi- the critically endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis: mately 8%) exploring the knowledge and use of plants Waltermire 1975). Additionally, Dinsho is the product of a providing insect-repellent qualities. Additionally, through- varied elevational and climatic gradient across the region. out much of these surveys the distinct nature of women The landscape is comprised of dense forests populated and men’s knowledge is not explicitly addressed (for the by immense trees including Juniperus procera Hochst. ex full list of sources see Appendix A). This national trend Endl. in the predominately dry southern expanses of Gay- mirrors broader findings by Pfeiffer and Butz (2005), who say, Hagenia abyssinica J.F. Gmel., Hypericum revolutum explored over 700 ethnobiological and ethnobotanical Vahl, Schefflera abyssinica (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Harms studies from 1981-2004, discovering that less than 5% and Schefflera volkensii (Harms) Harms in the wetter, addressed gender-based differences in ethnobiological northern reaches, in addition to an abundance of Artemis- and ethnobotanical knowledge and practice. ia, Helichrysum, Ferula and Kniphofia genera in the flatter sections of the valley (UNESCO 2013). Dinsho’s topog- With plants playing a critical role in the daily lives of most raphy and vegetation reflect the extended weathering of Ethiopians, our aim was to document and improve

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