Experiences · Farm & Community
Cattle, wells & the Borana
Spend time with Borana herders — at the singing wells, and out with the cattle their way of life revolves around.
For the Borana of Ethiopia's far south, cattle are wealth, food and culture. With a local guide, you spend time with a herding family and see how water and livestock shape every day.
The centre of Borana life is the well. Hand-dug as deep as thirty metres, the wells are worked by human chains that pass water up bucket by bucket, singing to keep the rhythm — the singing wells, where herds come to drink.
Away from the wells, you walk out with the herders and their cattle, hear how grazing is shared across the dry country, and share milk and tea in a family compound.
Visits are always arranged through a local Borana guide and with the community's consent, and fees go to the families and community you visit.
The details
- Time needed
- Half a day or more
- Where
- Borana, around Yabelo
- When
- Oct – Mar
What's included
- A local Borana guide
- A visit to a working well, where permitted
- Time with a herding family
- Community fees
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