Isara Tocha was one of the 77

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

s in the

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a regional state in southwestern E ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Part of the

Dawro Zone Dawro (or Dawuro) is a zone in the South West Region of Ethiopia. It is located at about 500km southwest of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and 319 km of Hawassa, the capital of the SNNPR. Dawuro is bordered on the south by Gamo Gofa Zone, ...

, Isara Tocha was bordered on the south by the

Omo River The Omo River (also called Omo-Bottego) in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The ...

which separates this woreda from the

Gamo Gofa Zone Gaamo Zone is a zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Gaamo is bordered on the south by the Dirashe special woreda, on the southwest by Debub (South) Omo and the Basketo special woreda, on the northwest by K ...

, on the west by the

Konta special woreda Konta is a Municipal Council and tehsil headquarters in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. Konta is a model town situated near bank of sabri River and Konta Legislative Assembly constituency is one of the 90 Legislative Assembly , Konta ...

, on the north by the

Gojeb River The Gojeb River is eastward-flowing tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia. It rises in the mountains of Guma, flowing in almost a direct line its confluence with the Omo at . Its canyon provided the former Kingdom of Kaffa an important defensive ...

which separates it from the

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

, on the east by

Mareka Gena Mareka Gena was one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Omo Zone, Mareka Gena was a triangle-shaped area located south of the confluence of the Omo River and its east-flowing ...

, and on the southeast by

Loma Bosa Loma Bosa (also known as simply Loma) was one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Dawro Zone, Loma Bosa was bordered on the south by the Gamo Gofa Zone, on the west by Isara Tocha, o ...

. Towns in Isara Tocha included Bale and

Tocha Tocha is a civil parish in the municipality of Cantanhede, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,992, in an area of 78.44 km². References Freguesias of Cantanhede, Portugal {{Coimbra-geo-stub ...

. Isara Tocha was separated to Isara and

woredas.

Overview

Isara Tocha is part of a region characterized by hills, and is not suitable for grazing or cultivation, but farmers cultivate the sloping land, leading to erosion and reduced soil fertility. Important food crops in this woreda include

enset ''Ensete ventricosum'', commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, pseudo-banana, false banana and wild banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of ...

, sweet potatoes,

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

and beans, while important cash crops are

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

teff ''Eragrostis tef'', also known as teff, Williams lovegrass or annual bunch grass, is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the Horn of Africa, notably to both Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is cultivated for its edible seeds, also known as ...

and pulses. Isara Tocha was selected by the

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in 2004 as one of several woredas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas, becoming the new home for a total of 6800 heads of households and 26,640 total family members.

Demographics

Based on figures published by the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...

in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 131,553, of whom 67,555 were men and 63,998 were women; 4,556 or 3.46% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.5%. With an estimated area of 1,838.60 square kilometers, Isara Tocha has an estimated population density of 71.6 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 156.5.CSA 2005 National Statistics
, Tables B.3 and B.4 The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 92,667 of whom 45,109 were males and 47,558 were females; 2,514 or 2.71% of its population were urban dwellers. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Isara Tocha were the

Kullo The Dawro are a people of southern Ethiopia, also known as the Omete. They speak the Dawragna language. During the nineteenth century, the Dawro lived in an independent state known as the Kingdom of Dawro. In 2000, the Dawro Zone was split off fro ...

(93.36%), the

Konta Konta is a Municipal Council and tehsil headquarters in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. Konta is a model town situated near bank of sabri River and Konta Legislative Assembly constituency is one of the 90 Legislative Assembly , Konta ...

(3.33%), the Kaffa (1.53%), and the Amhara (1.19%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.59% of the population.

is spoken as a first language by 94.38%, 3.15%

, and 1.82% speak Kafa; the remaining 0.65% spoke all other primary languages reported.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.15, 2.19 (accessed 30 December 2008) Concerning religious beliefs, the 1994 census reported that 60.68% of the population said they observed traditional religions, 34.33% practiced

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, and 4.55% were

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Notes

{{coord, 7, 00, N, 36, 55, E, display=title, type:adm3rd_region:ET Former districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region