Buranest town project - The Amhara Model Town

Buranest is a new rural town project (declared by the regional government as the Amhara Model Town) based on the NESTown approach in Bura 'Kebele' Libokemkem 'woreda' of the Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The planning process started in 2008(refer Milestones) and since 2010 the town project has entered into the implimentation phase.

Amhara Model Town

Amhara Model Town is a real life experiment

• for learning the do-s and do nots with regard to reproduction in other new towns;
• for site selection criteria and selecting the site of a new town;
• for communicating and participating with the local population;
• for designing the town plan, town institutions, town architecture and town infrastructure;
• for implementing the town plan and action plan on a participatory basis;
• for coordinating the different stakeholders, interest groups and actors;
• for fair and equitable governance in planning, implementing and operating the new town;
• for building- up, financing and managing the new cooperative societies;
• for testing the diverse design rules and building regulations;
• for evaluating the achieved results and the process of development with regard to sustainability.

Amhara Model Town is a project _

• for farming populations
• urbanising rural areas;
• for self-building, self-provision, self-management and self-administration;
• for food and livelihood security, health and sanitation security, education and communication security;
• for producing added value from town agriculture on the basis of vocational diversity and co-operative societies.

Amhara Model Town Agriculture implies_

• 4E principle of development and change: ecology, energy, exchange and education;
• high density of population and settlement;
• provision of water supply for all-year cultivation;
• diversity in agricultural production based on work-sharing;
• creating added value chains and access to regional markets;
• ensuring transportation and communication.