People Impacted
4,323
Elshadai Kallamino AITeC Farm – Mekelle
Projected Completed Date
09/07/2020
Building on the success of Elshadai’s Wukro site, the Elshadai AITeC Farm at Kallamino, adjacent to the TDA-Kallamino farm near Mekelle, serves as a powerful extension of Water 4 Mercy’s mission to transform communities through sustainable agriculture and education.
Located within the Elshadai Children’s Village Kallamino (ECV-K), this Agricultural Innovation and Technology Center supports both the nutritional and economic needs of the village’s children while driving regional agricultural development. In partnership with CultivAid and the Tigray Development Association (TDA), the site exemplifies how agricultural innovation and capacity-building can go hand in hand to empower the next generation of agronomists and food producers.
Growing Knowledge and Food Security Together
ECV-K operates a 10-hectare farm and dairy operation that not only supplies nutritious food for the children of the village but also generates income to support ongoing community needs. At its core, the site includes:
-
A 1-hectare vegetable demonstration and training plot
-
A 1-hectare fruit tree demonstration site featuring avocado, lemon, lime, and orange trees
-
A pressurized irrigation system fed by a central reservoir
These plots serve as learning environments for hands-on agricultural training, workshops, and skill-building programs targeting students, farmers, and future agronomists.
Kallamino: A Regional Hub for Innovation and Training
Just steps away, the TDA-Kallamino Farm has been a base of operations for CultivAid in Tigray since 2014 and now functions as a fully operational AITeC demonstration site. The farm includes:
-
10 hectares of irrigated farmland with modern pressurized systems
-
A 6,000 m³ reservoir for water management and conservation
-
A 2-hectare avocado orchard geared toward export markets
-
A 660 m² greenhouse nursery capable of producing 250,000 seedlings per cycle, with 4–5 cycles per year
-
A 1-hectare TDR (Training, Demonstration, and Research) site
This center plays a key role in Ethiopia’s agricultural transformation, showcasing how yields can be increased tenfold using improved agro-techniques and modern technology.
Training the Region’s Future Leaders in Agriculture
The farm hosts monthly training sessions, bi-annual open days, and internship programs for young agronomists. It has already welcomed thousands of farmers, students, and agricultural professionals, sharing critical knowledge in:
-
Sustainable farming methods
-
Avocado cultivation protocols
-
Seedling production and hybrid seed access
-
Agricultural extension services and private sector development
Through hands-on learning and wide-reaching regional development initiatives, the Elshadai AITeC Farm at Kallamino is nurturing self-reliance, food security, and scalable innovation.
Site Components at a Glance
-
10 hectares of pressurized irrigation
-
6,000 m³ reservoir
-
2-hectare avocado orchard (export-oriented)
-
660 m² vegetable seedling greenhouse (up to 1.25 million seedlings/year)
-
1-hectare Training, Demonstration & Research site (TDR)
-
Internship programs for agronomists
-
Extension services and support for NGOs and development groups
Together with our partners, Water 4 Mercy is proud to support this thriving center of learning and production—proving that with the right tools and training, local communities can become the champions of their own agricultural futures.