Collecting biodiversity in the markets remains an efficient practice, and so it was when Gary Nabhan and David Cavagnaro followed Vavilov to Ethiopia.
For several days, we played a game of geographic hopscotch, trying to retrace the path of Vavilov’s caravan from market to market, from Ankober and Debre Birhan overlooking the Great Rift Valley on the eastern edge of the highlands, to Addis Ababa in its south-central stronghold, and northward through Debre Libanos and Fichè, where one crosses the Blue Nile Gorge on the way up to Gonder and the monumental ruins of the Axumite Empire.
Each market was different in scale, size, and antiquity; some now found themselves as sideshows to railroad tracks or paved highways, whereas others remained shows unto themselves, situated in the shade of the leafy canopies of tall trees. One open-air market looked for all the world like it belonged under the mythic “tree where man was born,” for its vast and ancient canopy seemed to stretch out in every direction to shelter an entire community of traders and buyers who had come in from all reaches of the gorge. …
At last, we located the Ankober market that Vavilov had visited; it had moved at least two kilometers from a nearby ridge into the heart of town since his time and was now situated across from the bus depot. As it was closed for the holiday being celebrated as we arrived, David and I found an ecolodge, where we were each given a conical thatched-roof hut to sleep in. The lodge overlooked the original market site used through most of the early twentieth century. We were invited up the ridge from our huts to eat in a beautifully crafted longhouse, where we sampled the same honey wine and barley beer that Vavilov had shared with the headman of the village.
The next morning in Ankober, David and I wandered over to the new market, which comprised some thirty-six stands that sell all manner of fruits and vegetables every Tuesday and Saturday morning. The list of produce did not vary much from the inventory that Vavilov would have seen: durum wheat, teff, barley, corn, peas, favas, and lentils; sugar cane, peaches, bananas, oranges, melons, almonds, and lemons; chili peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, green onions, carrots, lettuce, radish, potatoes, and tobacco. Although many of the species originated elsewhere, their landrace varieties were peculiarly localized.
Extracted from Where our Food Comes From by Gary Paul Nabhan
and used with permission.
