Author: Gebissa, Ezekiel
Title: Leaf of Allah : Khat & Agricultural Transformation In Harerge Ethiopia 1875-1991 (Eastern African Studies)
Description: Athens, OH:Ohio University Press, 2004 Hardcover. Dustjacket. 210 pp. English text. Condition : as new. Mailorder only - Alleen verzending mogelijk. Book condition : as new. - KHAT IS A QUASI-LEGAL PSYCHOACTIVE SHRUB, produced and marketed in the province of Harerge, Ethiopia, and widely consumed throughout Northeast Africa. In the late nineteenth century the main cash crop of Harerge was coffee. Leaf of Allah examines why farming families shifted from cultivating coffee and food crops to growing khat. Demographic, market, and political factors facilitated the emergence of khat as Harerge's leading agricultural commodity. This development increased the scale of unofficial cross-border trade in consumer goods. This study explores the consequences of the new cash crop for the regional economy as a whole, for farmer-state relations, for the nature and balance of local social relations, as well as for Harerge's physical, socioeconomic, and political landscapes. This impressive book is a well-researched case study of socio-economic change caused by the production, distribution and consumption of khat in eastern Ethiopia since the late nineteenth century. - James Quirin in the JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY In Leaf of Allah, the first social and economic history of Khat in Ethiopia and surrounding lands of which I am aware, Gebissa explores the dramatic growth in its production, and its impact on the region where it is grown. In the process, he has immersed himself not just in the literature but also in the lives of Harerge farmers and traders, producing a book that is constantly fascinating. - Christopher Clapham in the TLS Ezekiel Gebissa writes with a fluency that comes from a vivid interest in the subject, and the khat producers and traders of the Harer highlands come to life in his hands, often in their own words. He has done them proud. ISBN 9780821415597.

Keywords: ANTHROPOLOGY, Ethiopia narcotics