Hoptimism reaches Horn of Africa - RiPlant helps against drought

As recently as August, Richard Petri was traveling in southern Ethiopia in the arid region of the Borana. Like other peoples, the Borana are suffering extremely from the drought in the Horn of Africa caused by climate change. It is estimated that 1.5 million cattle have died of thirst here alone. After winning the German Innovation Award for Horticulture 2022 in September, RiPlant immediately pledged part of the prize money as a donation. In cooperation with the park administration of the Borana National Park, two previously inaccessible water sources in the park's buffer zone could be developed in order to make them usable for humans and animals.

Together with friends, about 5,000 Euros were made available. A hand-dug well was additionally equipped with a cattle trough. 27 km of paths were laid by hand. Another water source is reserved for the wild animals of the Borana National Park. The protected area is home to one of the last herds of the Grevy's zebra in Ethiopia, which is acutely threatened with extinction. Richard Petri: "I am grateful for the additional opportunities that the German Horticulture Innovation Award has given me. For my friends in Ethiopia, this help is a blessing, and I can say with a twinkle in my eye that now the hoptimism spread by RiPlant has even reached the Horn of Africa."