In the quiet farmlands outside Addis Ababa, a powerful landscape has emerged in memoriam of the lives lost on 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Designed by Alebel Desta Consulting, the park’s design embraces nature as a collaborator in the healing process. A winding path traces the final 6 minutes and 44 seconds of the flight, each step drawing visitors deeper into reflection.
Rising from the ground, four sculptural concrete forms represent the continents from which the victims came—earth-toned, textured, and grounded in the geological language of Ethiopia’s highlands. Native plants, stone circles, and a striking perforated steel Healing Monument transform the site into a sensory space where loss is acknowledged. Light filters through the monument’s perforations like memory through time, casting shadows that change with the sun.
Encircling the central monument, a rock garden arranges locally sourced stones in gentle, concentric rings—offering a quiet space to pause, connect with the ground. The park features over 120,000 indigenous trees and shrubs planted transforming the space into a living system of regeneration symbolising a natural sanctuary where grief is honoured, and healing grows from the land.
