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Welkait (also spelled Wolkait or Wolqayt; is a
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 ...
which was historically part of the northern Amhara region of Gonder in Ethiopia. Following the fall of the communist Derg regime and ascension to power of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), the region was unilaterally annexed into the
Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...
in
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 ...
by the TPLF. It is believed this annexation was for geopolitical purposes with the primary goal of obtaining a direct border with Sudan. The TPLF also annexed areas from the other regions in the country for similar purposes. Efforts to integrate Welkait into Tigray were widespread and systematic, including the expulsion and intimidation of the majority Amhara population and the re-naming of cities, rivers, lakes, mountains, springs, etc from their original Amharic to Tigrigna. Over the past two years of conflict in Northern Ethiopia, Welkait was reintegrated back into its historic borders and is currently administered as part of the
Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...
. This woreda is bordered to the north by
Humera Humera (; ) is a town in the Kafta Humera woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Western Zone the town has an elevation of above sea level. The Tekezé river borders the town to the north. Humera is a very important regional ...
and to the south by
Tsegede Tsegede () is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named after the historic province of Tsegede. Located in the Western Zone of Tigray, Tsegede is bordered on the south and west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Kafta Humera, and ...
. It is bordered on the east by the North West Zone; the woredas of
Tahtay Adiyabo Tahtay Adiyabo () is a woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the North Western Zone, Tahtay Adiyabo is bordered on the south by Asigede Tsimbela, on the southwest by the Tekezé River on the north by Eritrea, and on the east by La'i ...
and
Asgede Tsimbla Asgede Tsimbla () is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Mi'irabawi Zone, Asgede Tsimbla is bordered along the south by the Tekeze River which separates the woreda on the south from Tselemti and to the west by the Mi'irabawi ...
lie to the north-east, on the other side of the
Tekezé River The Tekezé or Täkkäze River ( amh, ተከዜ, ti, ተከዘ; originally meaning "river" in Ge’ez, ), also spelled Takkaze, is a major river of Ethiopia. For part of its course it forms a section of the westernmost border of Ethiopia and Erit ...
, and
Tselemti Tselemti () is an Ethiopian District, or ''woreda'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Mi'irabawi (North Western) Zone, Tselemti is bordered on the south by the Amhara Region, on the west by the Mi'irabawi Zone, on the north ...
to the east. The administrative center of Welkait is Addi Remets; other towns in the woreda include Mai'gaba and Awura.


Overview

Welkait is known for its fertile
alluvial soil Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
, which grows cash crops such
sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
,
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
and also
sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
.


Demographics

Based on the 2007 census conducted 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 ...
of Ethiopia (CSA), this
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 ...
has a total population of 138,926, an increase of 90,186 over the 1994 national census, of whom 70,504 are men and 68,422 women; 10,758 or 7.74% are urban inhabitants. With an area of , Welkait has a population density of 41.17 people/km2, which is greater than the Zone average of 28.94 people/km2. A total of 30,375 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 4.57 persons in a household, and 29,336 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants said they 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 ...
, with 97.28% reporting that as their religion, while 2.71% of the population were
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 90,186, of whom 45,657 were men and 44,529 were women; 4,597 or 5.1% of its population were urban dwellers. The ethnic make up of the region is widely disputed. Documentation shows that following the annexation of the area into the Tigray region, a mass effort was undertaken to re-populate the area with a majority Tigray ethnic migrants while displacing the local Amhara population. Various steps were taken to dramatically change the demographic make up of the region including, a change to the official language for regional administration and teaching in public schools to Tigrigna and repossession of land from the majority Amhara farming population. Notably, records going back into the 1980’s show that the region was populated predominantly by ethnic Amhara, while ethnographer Giovanni Ellero's records around 1940 show that the region was populated predominantly by ethnic
Tigrayans Tigrayans ( ti, ተጋሩ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia. They speak the Tigrinya language, an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Ethiopian Semitic branch. The daily life of Tigray ...
. The 2007 census data indicates that the ethnic groups reported in Welkait are now Tigray (96.58%), Amhara (3.03%); and all other ethnic groups made up only 0.39% of the population.
Tigrinya (; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions. History and literatur ...
is spoken as a major language by 97.14%, and 2.75% speak
Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
; the remaining 0.11% spoke all other primary languages reported. 96.75% of the population said they were
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...
, and 3.09% were
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. Concerning
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, 3.9% of the population were considered literate, which is less than the Zone average of 9.01%; 3.36% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school, which is less than the Zone average of 11.34%; a negligible number of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school, which is also less than the Zone average of 0.65%; and a negligible number of children aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school, which is less than the Zone average of 0.51%. Concerning
sanitary conditions Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, about 1% of the urban houses and about 8% of all houses had access to safe drinking water at the time of the census; about 4% of the urban and about 4% of all houses had toilet facilities.


Ethnicity

*Urban and Rural
Mi'irabawi Zone The Western Zone () is a zone in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is subdivided into three woredas (districts); from north to south they are Kafta Humera, Welkait and Tsegede. The largest town is Humera. The Western Zone is bordered on the east ...
statistics because none are available for Welkait specifically.


Mother Language

*Urban and Rural
Mi'irabawi Zone The Western Zone () is a zone in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is subdivided into three woredas (districts); from north to south they are Kafta Humera, Welkait and Tsegede. The largest town is Humera. The Western Zone is bordered on the east ...
statistics because none are available for Welkait specifically.


Religion


Economy


Agriculture

A sample enumeration performed by the CSA in 2001 interviewed 24,417 farmers in this woreda, who held an average of 0.99 hectares of land. Of the 24,286 hectares of private land surveyed, over 86.69% was in cultivation, 1.27% pasture, 10.37%
fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycl ...
, 0.03% in
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
, and 1.65% was devoted to other uses. For the land under cultivation in this woreda, 63.29% was planted in cereals, 4.19% in pulses, 18.24% in oilseeds, and 0.17% in vegetables is missing. The area planted in
gesho ''Rhamnus prinoides'', the shiny-leaf buckthorn, is an African shrub or small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. Commonly referred to as "gesho" it was first scientifically described by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789. ...
was 25 hectares; the area in fruit trees is missing. 79.64% of the farmers both raised crops and livestock, while 10.96% only grew crops and 9.4% only raised livestock. Land tenure in this woreda is distributed amongst 73.93% owning their land, 25.09% renting, and 0.98% reported as holding their land under other forms of tenure. The intensive agriculture is necessary to feed people of the region due to the burgeoning human population, but continuing conversion of natural lands to agriculture is taking a toll on
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
in the area.


Sugar industry

The Ethiopian Sugar Corporation is building a sugar mill in Welkait region.


Transportation


Ground Travel

In May 2010 construction was underway on a 98-kilometer road westwards from Adi Remets to Dejena Densha; construction of a road in the other direction, eastwards from Adi Remets to Dedebit in
Asgede Tsimbla Asgede Tsimbla () is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Mi'irabawi Zone, Asgede Tsimbla is bordered along the south by the Tekeze River which separates the woreda on the south from Tselemti and to the west by the Mi'irabawi ...
woreda, was awarded that month to Sur Construction for 801 million birr."Tigray, Southern towns get first roads"
''Addis Fortune'' 2 May 2010 (accessed 16 October 2016)


2020 woreda reorganisation

In 2020, Welkait woreda became inoperative and its territory belongs to the following new woredas: *Welkait (new, smaller, woreda) *Awra woreda *Korarit woreda *May Gaba town


References

{{Districts of the Tigray Region Districts of Tigray Region