Dir Biyabir is a registered non-profit that was formed in 2006 to mobilize financial and human resources for the specific purpose of supporting local grass-roots development projects in the poorest areas of Ethiopia. Our name Dir Biyabir is a phrase from a very popular Ethiopian saying "Dir Biyabir Anbessa Yasir" which translates to "When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion". Dir Biyabir means "when spider webs unite", and this phrase nicely sums up our goal of getting people to work together to tackle some of the seemingly intractable problems of Ethiopia. Dir Biyabir is incorporated in the State of California and is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization.

The types of development projects that are supported by Dir Biyabir in Ethiopia are those that focus on reducing extreme poverty by investing in people and building their capacity to help themselves. Such projects include providing vocational training and fostering entrepreneurship, building schools for local children, planting trees and rehabilitating the environment, improving local healthcare etc. Since projects are most effective when run locally, Dir Biyabir does not actively run projects in Ethiopia.


Instead, Dir Biyabir focuses on conducting the following programs and activities to support selected grass roots development projects that are run by local Ethiopian NGO's:

• Raising funds to directly support the projects in Ethiopia:
• Seeking donations from individuals
• Applying for grants from corporate donors
• Applying for grants from private foundations
• Providing advice such as project management methodologies
• Building and maintaining websites for Ethiopian grass-roots development projects so they can gain visibility and support for their projects and activities

Dir Biyabir's first partnership in Ethiopia is with ADHENO Integrated Rural Development Association. ADHENO is a registered non-profit in Ethiopia and was selected due to the following key characteristics of this organization:

• Focus on very poor rural communities in Ethiopia
• Focus on self-help and long-term sustainable development by investing in people
• Demonstrated ability to execute creative and highly effective projects at very low cost
• High credibility with the target communities and active engagement of the local population in all projects
• Very low overhead
• Demonstrated ability to independently raise funds from various organizations including SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency), Japanese Embassy, Christian Relief etc

ADHENO activities are currently focused in the "Woreda" (district) of Bassona Worana in the North Shoa zone, in the north central highlands of Ethiopia. Within Bassona Worana Woreda, ADHENO activities are currently focused in an area that is bounded by the Beressa River to the north and the Chacha River to the south. This area consists of the "kebeles" (neighborhoods) of Moyi, Goshe Bado, Metkoriya, Gifat, Chinibire, and Mate. The region is approximately 146 km north of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Abeba.