The wispy green stalks of the teff plant are a distinct landmark in many parts of Ethiopia.
Saluting Ethiopia’s ‘other’ famous native plant
Ethiopia may be best known as the birthplace of coffee, but there’s another plant that originated there that may be even more important in Africa’s second most populous country – teff.
Teff is an ancient Ethiopian grain that is the backbone of farming and the national diet. Grown by millions of farmers, it is used primarily for making injera, a spongy tart-like flatbread that is, literally, the base of most meals. The bread is laid on a platter and is also perfect for scooping up meat and vegetable stews. Most Ethiopians eat it at least once a day.
Teff is hard to miss driving southwest from Addis Ababa to Kembata-Tembaro and Hadiya where WEEMA works. Highland breezes send shimmying ripples across vast fields of its wispy green stalks. Smallholder farmers can often be seen shaking the plants and then drying the tiny brownish-colored grains on large roadside mats. Outside their thatched huts, women hunch over outdoor fires pouring injera batter onto large round griddles – a daily routine that underpins their diet.
Teff and injera have been fixtures in Ethiopian life for thousands of years, well before coffee was discovered there around the 9th century. High in protein, iron, and fibre, as well as being gluten-free, teff has been cultivated in Ethiopia and Eritrea for at least 2,000 years and possibly much longer.
Like Ethiopian coffee, its notoriety has garnered international intrigue, some of it unwanted. Just over a decade ago, a Dutch company that aspired to transform the cereal grain into the world’s next superfood got a European patent for processing teff flour and its related products. The plans eventually fizzled when the company went bankrupt and the patent was voided in the Netherlands – a victory hailed by many Ethiopians.
Today, Ethiopia still produces the vast majority of the world’s teff. While some injera is being exported, it is mostly being consumed at home as it has been for thousands of years.
“Teff has been discovered by the world, and this isn’t a bad thing,” says Zewdie Gebretsadik, a senior technical expert at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor. “Let the world love it like we love it, but they must also recognize where it came from.”
With your help, we can continue to support Ethiopian farming communities and the growth of this nutritious grain.
*** Feeling ambitious? Here’s a recipe for making injera. Another culinary option is goTeff Instant Superfood Cereals, available here.
Ethiopian woman offers injera cooked on her outdoor fire to visitors
