Social Capital Development

Local resettlement of young families and the IDPs is a key priority here.

 Provide social services to heal the postwar community. Improve basic public services like water, education, health care, etc.

The Irob people have a rich and diverse heritage that dates back to ancient times. They have been autonomous and democratic under the "Ona" system, until the Italian occupation of 1935. They have produced many prominent figures in Ethiopian history, such as Degiat Woldu Subagadis, Emperor Yohannes IV, and the late EPRP leader Dr. Tesfay Debesay. They have also been pioneers in education and religion, as they established the first modern school in Ethiopia in the late 1830s, along with the introduction of Catholicism. The Irob youth need to be aware of their glorious past and their unique identity. It is vital to create awareness of these facts to overcome the identity crisis, in addition to the urgent need for trauma healing and counseling in a post-war community.

 The Irob people are a resilient and proud community that has endured many hardships and challenges in its history. They have been caught in the crossfire of wars and conflicts between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and most recently, the Tigray crisis. They have also faced discrimination and oppression as a linguistic, religious, and ethnic minority in Tigray, where their rights and interests have been neglected. These circumstances have caused severe trauma, displacement, and despair among the Irob people, especially the youth. Many of them have lost their connection to their ancestral land, culture, and identity, and some have fallen victim to human trafficking and exploitation. 

To address this situation, introduce social services project that aims to provide vocational training, social counseling, and youth and gender empowerment programs for the Irob community. The project will help the Irob people to heal from their wounds, restore their dignity, and develop their skills and potential for a brighter future. 

Skilled workforce is essential for achieving transformation. The Kallassa TVET College is a strategic asset for enhancing human resources and enabling youth in various domains. The college can provide training courses in Agroindustry, environmental restoration, Assabol reservoir water resources utilization and irrigation, tourism and entrepreneurship, which are relevant to the local needs and opportunities. The local resettlement program through urban infrastructure growth and development in Alitena-Dawhan towns and nearby villages, is vital to leverage the potential of Kallassa TVET College. The agricultural development program would also free up more than 50,000ha of the agriculturally unsustainable steep mountainous region of Irobland for nature restoration and eco-friendly livelihood practices like bee keeping, ecotourism, biodiversity restoration and research of the extremely diverse and unique native flora. Successful execution of this program will have a positive impact on the mountain ecosystem restoration as it will stop the intrusion of young families into remote areas in search of residence and arable land in Irob mountains.