The Karo form a small community of an estimated 1,000 to 3,000 people, who dwell on the eastern banks of the Omo River. They are closely related to their neighbours, the Hamar and Banna people, and speak Karo, which is considered a dialect of Hamer-Banna. The Karo practise flood-retreat cultivation, using the rich soil that is exposed along the river banks when the water recedes during the dry season. Here, they grow sorghum, maize and beans