About Us
SUNARMA works in rural Ethiopia amongst farmers who live in areas that are food insecure.
SUNARMA stands for Sustainable Natural Resource Management Association and as its name implies seeks sustainable solutions to the challenges of rural Ethiopia.
SUNARMA’s vision is for a stable and productive environment with stable and productive people. SUNARMA was set up by a group of Ethiopian professionals in Addis Abba in 2000, its is a registered NGO.
SUNARMA has a membership know as the General Assembly that includes rural farmers as well as Ethiopian professionals from many backgrounds and skills. SUNARMA has a UK organisation of the same name who are registered with the UK Charity Commission.
We currently have three main projects across Ethiopia in three regional states, working with rural farmers to improve food production and income and creating a productive countryside. Please take a look at our projects tab.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more.
Tekle Jirane
Tekle Tekle head shotbecame Chief Executive Director of SUNARMA Ethiopia in 2014. He leads a team of almost 40 staff from the Head Office in Addis Ababa. He studied Forest Management in Russia before returning to Ethiopia to work for the Ministry of Agriculture and the Department for Natural Resource Management and many other government and NGO projects in different capacities. Tekle also worked for Farm Africa and was involved with piloting and scaling up Participatory Forest Management in four regional states. He brings extensive knowledge and a great many skills to his role as CED of SUNARMA.
In his spare time Tekle enjoys watching Ethiopia’s national football team and is also a fan of Chelsea Football Club.
Ali Birhan
Birhan has become one of Ethiopia’s best proponent of Participatory Forest Management (PFM). He has developed these skill having left university with two degrees in Forestry and Natural Resources. Birhan led the team that produced Amhara regional states first PFM plan that protected the whole of the beautiful Wowahsa Forest and its ancient junipers trees. He understands that for people in and around high altitude forest new income from enterprise development that does not solely rely on the forest is key to improving community prosperity.
Birhan loves to trek in his beloved forest and watching football.
PIERS LANGDON
Piers has been the CEO of SUNARMA/Action Ethiopia since 2002. He has lived and worked in Ethiopia and also has business experience in other developing countries. He is a livestock and arable farmer in the UK. He is trustee of a UK youth charity and helps on the leadership team of his local church.
‘Ethiopia is a truly remarkable and beautiful country with an ancient history. In the shrinking world that we share I hope you will feel able to join us in our endeavour. I would like to send you a free guide to our work, just let me have your details on the form on this page’.
SUSAN OLDHAM
Susan joined SUNARMA/Action Ethiopia in 2013 to develop funding proposals but has since provided support in a number of areas including producing SUNARMA/Action Ethiopia’s Annual Reports, organising the 2013 Bristol conference, producing articles and updating the website. She has lived in Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Dominica, Zanzibar, China and Italy. She brings with her experience from her travels as well as in finance, education and international development. Susan also volunteers for a refugee charity based in Bristol.