Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices.

Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income.

The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production.

Ethiopia's Christians still flock to the intricate stone churches of the highlands where their faith arose.

World's largest monolithic church, Bieta Medhane Alem in Lalibela sits in a 35-foot-deep trench.This is the cool stone floors were slick from the friction of centuries of barefoot worshipers.

Farmers also keep the past alive, using a traditional style of plow to grow teff, a grain that has fed the people of the region for millennia...