ENSET
Enset (Ensete ventricosa) is extensively cultivated as food-crop and is a staple food for the third of the Ethiopian population. The appearance of Ensete or false Banana is very similar to that of the common banana. Both plants are actually giant herbs. Ensete plants can grow between 6-12 meters high. They have a "false stem" which is made up of the leaf bases. The leaves are large, bright green and have a thick pink to dark-red midrib. The flowers appear in big hanging heads of two to three meters. The fruits bear a resemblance to the common banana, but are not edible. The difference from the banana tree if where it grows. While the real banana prefers hot regions below 2000 meters ,enset grows at altitudes reaching to 3000 meters,surviving well in both the freezing highlands and the heat of the lowlands.It grows best in damp places between 2000 and 3000 meters.
From the pulp inside the stem and rootstock, flour is extracted which is used in the preparation of traditional food. The method of extracting and preparing the "Werk'e" is time consuming and requires skilled knowledge and craftsmanship. The elaborate activity begins with cutting the root and stem and removing the outer layer of skin. The scrapings of root and inner parts of the stem are collected, covered with leaves and left to ferment for 15-20 days. During fermentation the formerly soft white paste changes colour to grayish-black and turns solid. At this stage it is mixed with fresh scraping of root and stem until the colour is cream-white again. After another 5 days of fermentation it is mixed with spices, covered with leaves and left for about a week.
The final step is the removal of remaining liquid from the past by squeezing it through a piece of cloth. After drying, the flour-like mixture is cleaned from impurities. The flour is used in traditional food for making bread and porridge. Enset leaves are used in the process of baking bread. The dough is wrapped with the leaves and placed in an oven or on a fire. When the bread is ready it is peeled out of the leaves. Further, the leaves are widely put to use for packing and wrapping of edibles.The leaf fibres are used like rope for tying objects. The leaves also offer palatable fodder for cattle. Enset leafs are used for thatching of buildings and the seed are used as beads. The whole plant is good for soil conservation.
