Ethiopia is synonymous in many people's minds with drought and famine. In some parts of the country, staying alive and healthy during the dry season without food handouts is difficult.

But in the Tigray region, a pioneering project to manage environmental resources - which conserves water and improves food security - is transforming the fortunes of some families. Meet two mothers who live a few hours' drive apart, but whose lives are very different.

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Images courtesy WFP/Jiro Ose and Ruth Evans. Archive images from 1985 courtesy Getty Images.

Audio by Ruth Evans. Music by KPM Music.

Slideshow production by Paul Kerley and Ruth Evans. Publication date 19 June 2012.

Related:

World Food Programme

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