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Article: From the Swiss Alps to the Simen Mountains: a profile of Hans Hurni. (Simen Mountains, Ethiopia)
- Article from:
- Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
- Article date:
- May 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Soil & Water Conservation Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Imagine being 50 km (31 miles) from the nearest road accessible to vehicles and hundreds of kilometers from hospitals, theaters, and other modern conveniences of Western life, all while living in a thatched-roof hut. That was Hans Hurni's situation 20 years ago, between 1974 and 1977, when he lived 3,600 m (11,811 ft) above sea-level in the Simen Mountains National Park in northern Ethiopia. Situated between the uppermost Ericaceous forest and a mountain steppe that reached an elevation of 4,000 m (13,123 ft), he was within 20 minutes walking distance of a 3,000-meter (9,842 ft) deep canyon, twice the depth of Arizona's Grand Canyon.
He was living on those steep ...