Experience in Africa: We share our knowledge about Aloe Vera in Ethiopia

Today we want to talk to you about Ángel Olaran, an example of humanity and sacrifice who has moved us and with whom we have had the opportunity to collaborate in training people from the rural area of Wukro and the Tigray region (Ethiopia) in the cultivation and uses of aloe vera in their daily lives.

Ángel Olarán arrived in Wukro in 1991 and since then, he has transformed the lives of many people by involving them in their own development. In these 25 years of effort and work in the area, he has not only achieved the goal of creating the St. Mary school, but with a team of collaborators, he has covered many more areas.

Mainly, his organization is dedicated to providing social and economic support to orphans, indigent mothers, victims of HIV/AIDS, elderly and disabled people living in extreme poverty, raising awareness on all issues related to HIV/AIDS, and providing credit services to the underprivileged population so they can become independent.

For the majority of the population of Wukro and the surrounding areas, subsistence dryland farming is their main livelihood. However, Wukro and its surroundings frequently suffer periods of drought that have serious consequences for the living conditions of the rural population.

Despite this, after years of work, green areas and trees now grow in Wukro, providing shade for those who seek refuge from the intense sun hours.

Aloe Vera is becoming a crop with potential and from our extensive knowledge of its cultivation, food and cosmetic uses, and its enormous health properties, we have wanted to contribute alongside Ángel to the development of this community through training.

For this purpose, our colleague Andrés López Alarcón de la Lastra, an agronomist engineer and great aloe expert, has traveled to the area for a few weeks to train men and women from Wukro and the Tigray region in the harvesting of aloe vera leaves, their cleaning, cutting, and processing into aloe vera gel, shampoo (also using aromatic plants), and aloe vera juice, to increase the food and cosmetic resources that can benefit their health and improve their quality of life.

The experience has been a great opportunity to put our knowledge at the service of valuable and capable people, eager to learn but in need of resources, collaboration, and training that allow them to live with dignity through their own work.

Abba Malaku is the name by which Ángel is known in the city of Wukro, Ethiopia. Malaku means “My Angel”, and it is no wonder, because that is what he is to all these people to whom he dedicates his life. Thank you, Ángel, we will return!