Omo Change by Fausto Podavini

Omo Change tells the story of the Omo River Valley, where the construction of Gibe III dam has altered the flow of the river and disrupted the lives and livelihoods of indigenous tribes living downstream,

Omo Change tells the story of the Omo River Valley, one of the most incredible areas on the African continent, a place where our human ancestors first emerged. The place is wild and unique, as are the people living there. The people are divided into a variety of tribes, each with their own rights, colors and customs, but all united by their dependence on the river. Their tribal rites, basic homes and animal husbandry reveal a deep balance with nature.

The Gibe III dam has disrupted that balance in the name of development, development that diverts a local resource on which people depend to the interests of Ethiopian elites and international investors. The dam will produce electricity for export to Kenya and water from the river’s water is now drawn down to irrigate large cotton and sugar plantations, transforming forests into massive monoculture farms owned by foreign interests.

Fausto Podavini spent seven years documenting the changing environment in the Omo Valley following the opening of the Gibe III dam. Omo Change contains 84 photographs and commentary from the photographer, Igiaba Scego, an Italian writer of Somali origins and Marirosa Iannelli, a water rights activist and president of The Water Grabbing Observatory. The book includes a map of the Omo River Valley by geographer Riccardo Pravettoni from the Norwegian Center for Global Analysis.