South Omo Research Center (SORC) would like to enhance its role as a hub for researchers and ethnic groups in South Omo. We invite researchers and their informants to stay at our guesthouse during their field study breaks, make use of our library and study area. SORC is the ideal place for researchers who need a quiet, green and clean place to stay during their research.
Located on the uplands of Jinka town, it gives breathtaking scenery of the town and the surrounding natural environment. Besides its natural setting, the center provides the following services that make life easy for researchers and visitors who want to spend some time in Jinka. SORC can also grant a formal affiliation and provide researchers with supporting documents, see the bottom of this page.
Facilities:
Library
Our library has a vast collection of publications from various disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, folklore, archaeology and linguistics. Our collection relies on institutional donations (The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology) and donations from individual researchers and friends of SORC. In case you are dusting your bookshelves and find some books that you would like to donate, we would appreciate your contribution to the literature collection at SORC.
The library offers the possibility to watch ethnographic movies and documentaries, see the list of the titles in our collection.
Museum
The museum is dedicated to the preservation, documentation and promotion of South Omo cultural and natural heritage. It showcases cultural artefacts of various ethnic groups ranging from clothing, adornments, household items, ritual paraphernalia, musical instruments etc. The museum offers a collection of ethnographic films and texts on sociology and anthropology. It is an excellent source of information for researchers interested in culture, language, sociology and anthropology. For more information visit the main page of the museum.
Meeting hall for conferences
Our meeting hall has a good reputation in hosting local, regional, national and international conferences and film festivals. It accommodates up to 50 people.
Wi-Fi
Researchers and visitors have access to free Wi-Fi in their room, library and in the open space surrounding the center.
Guest rooms
We have 9 rooms, 5 of them are traditional rooms made out of mud. Researchers and visitors pay 200 ETB per day.
Camping
Visitors who prefer to camp can set up their tents in our compound. The price for camping is 200 ETB per day.
Kitchen
SORC is at walking distance from restaurants but in case you are interested in cooking your own food the center is provided with a kitchen. There is also the possibility to hire our experienced cooks at SORC.
Affiliation process
SORC can grant affiliation to researchers who want to carry out their research in South Omo. SORC can write a support letter to government officials and concerned bodies mentioning that the researcher is an affiliate of SORC and that SORC provides all the support in their fieldwork. Researchers who want to become affiliated with SORC are requested to get in touch with the director of SORC (Haimanot Alemayehu) and provide the following documents:
- A description of the research project, contact details and one reference letter from the hosting institution;
- Passport details: passport number, full name, birthdate, nationality, country and date of passport issue, proposed date of departure;
- Upon arrival researchers pay 200 USD and sign the affiliation form.
South Omo Research Center 