The Araqe Dilemma. The Socioeconomics of Traditional Distilled Alcohol Production Marketing and Consumption in Ethiopia

Araqe is a traditional home-distilled beverage that is made from an assortment of cereals such as wheat sorghum and maize and has a high level of ethanol. A ubiquitous feature of present day Ethiopian society with the exception of the predominantly Muslim communities Araqe is more than the alcoholic drink of choice for people living in rural and small towns. Thanks to its qualities of divisibility long shelf-life portability and high unit value it is also an important commodity that is produced by traded between and consumed in most rural and urban areas of the country. Its negative effects notwithstanding it is a major object of exchange that ties cities to their rural hinterlands and with one another thus becoming an important component of the social fabric of the society. It is an important social fact that cannot be dismissed as a fringe phenomenon. But in spite of the substantial amount of araqe that is distilled traded and consumed within the informal sector and the important place it holds in the socioeconomic fabric of the society no comprehensive study has to date been undertaken on its interrelated aspects at a national level. The general objective of this study is to assess and document the processes (origin introduction and spread) patterns (arenas manners) trends (currently evolving forms and future directions) as well as impacts (on environment economy social health and security) of the production marketing and consumption of the homemade liquor araqe with the ultimate aim of indicating how and to what extent these factors contribute to economic development/stagnation and social cohesion/disruption in rural Ethiopia in particular as well as the country at large.