Enset ventricosum is the edible species of the separate genus of the banana family, thus named ‘false banana’, but the Enset fruit is not edible. Variation within the species to altitude, soil and climate has allowed widespread cultivation in the mid- to highlands of western Arsi-Bale, the Southern Peoples Nations Nationalities Regional State (SPNNRS), and western Oromia including West Shewa, Jima, Ilubabor and Welega. Three Enset derived foods are popular but the most common is Kocho. The plant is cut before flowering, the pseudostem and leaf midribs are scraped, the pulp is fermented for 10-15 days and finally steam-baked flat-bread is prepared. As many as 7 million people consume the low-protein Enset products as staple or co-staple foods, sometimes solely with Vitamin A foods but commonly without the needed protein supplement. Leaf, fibre and plant parts are used for food wrappers, cattle feed, ropes and house construction materials.
	This is one of their stores of enset. It is well covered with the large leaves from the plant itself and stays moist from the sap and juice from the stalks and roots.
Anyone who travels in the Enset growing area would conclude that Enset is a major part of the food production/consumption system of the area but quantification of its complex production mechanism has eluded statistical measurement. Several reports give average plant yields but an 'average plant' varies across agro-ecologies, cultural systems and even households. Read more >>