They are agro-pastoralists who live near the river during the dry season, moving to grassland during the annual floods, grazing cattle, hunting game and fishing for survival. Renowned for the wide variety of wildlife and diverse eco-systems it supports, the 760km long Omo River is home to approximately 500,000 indigenous tribespeople, of which roughly half live in the Lower Omo Valley. Inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1980 as a place of outstanding universal value, it is the site of the earliest known signs of homosapien existence. A semi-nomadic people, the tribes of the Omo inhabit one of the few remaining pristine riverine forests in semi-arid Africa, and indeed the world. It is absolutely essential to their survival. For the people of Ethiopia’s remote Omo River Valley however, the central role of art and nature to wellbeing is more than just an ideal. Likewise the need to reconnect regularly with nature in order to give our minds and bodies a rest, and provide the energy we need to keep going. The importance of art and environment is something we refer to time and again as we plead our case to the wider community for recognition, funding and protection. Some of us, myself included, would even go so far as to say that our lives depend on its inclusion. Those of us who love the arts know that the thought of life without art is a pitiful one.
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