Yabelo is one of the
Aanaa
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
Oromia
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 Be ...
of
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 ...
, named after its administrative center,
Yabelo
Yabelo ( om, Yaabeelloo) is a town in southern Ethiopia. An alternative name for this town is Obda, which is also the name of a nearby mountain.[Borena Zone
Borena ( Oromo: ''Boorana'') is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Borena is named after one of the two major subgroups of the Oromo People. Borena is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peop ...]
, Yabelo is bordered on the south by
Dire, on the west by
Teltele, on the north by
Bule Hora
Bule Hora is a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It formerly included Dugda Dawa and Kercha districts. Part of the West Guji Zone, Bule Hora was bordered on the south by the Dawa River which separates it from Arero, on the southwest by Yabelo, ...
, and on the east by
Arero.
Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 350 to 1800 meters above sea level. There are no rivers or streams in Yabelo. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 10% is arable or cultivable (7.5% was under annual crops), 60% pasture, 10%
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
(5.5% state forests), and the remaining 20% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. A notable local landmark is the
Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary
Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary in southern Ethiopia. It is located in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region west of the town of Yabelo, having an area of 2,500 square kilometers and elevations ranging from 143 ...
.
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 ...
,
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
corn,
haricot bean
The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris'') native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than m ...
,
sorghum and
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
are important crops.
[''Socio-economic profile of the Borena Zone'']
Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 1 August 2006)
Industry in the woreda includes 19
grain mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
s and one metal works. Deposits of
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...
are known to exist but have not been commercially developed. There were 15 Farmers Associations and 6 Farmers Service Cooperatives; about 70% of the farmers are
pastoralists
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal s ...
. Yabelo has 163 kilometers of dry-weather and 103 all-weather road, for an average road density of 48.2 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 41% of the rural and 58.1% of the urban population has access to
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
.
[
]
History
In April 2005, ethnic conflict between the Guji Oromo
The Guji Oromo are an Oromo clan living Guji Zone in southern Oromia of Ethiopia. They are distinguished by their agro- pastoral lifestyle. According to a population projection from 2007, the total population of the Guji Oromo is above 5 million. ...
and the Gabbra in southern Oromia led to massive displacement of people. An NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
working in the area reported as many as 50,000 people were forced to flee from Hagere Mariam, Yabelo and Arero woredas, and several thousand huts burnt.
In May 2009, the woreda authorities announced that development programs with a total budget of 20 million Birr had been completed in the woreda. These projects included four veterinary clinics, a 129-kilometer gravel road, and 65 kilometers of terracing works built in the previous nine months.
Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 102,165, of whom 51,418 were men and 50,747 were women; 17,497 or 17.13% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced traditional beliefs, with 59.8% of the population reporting they observed these beliefs, while 14.73% of the population were Protestant
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 ...
, 14.52% were Muslim, 8.28% 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 Chri ...
and 1.79% were Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
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 growt ...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 82,443, of whom 41,132 are men and 41,311 are women; 18,478 or 22.41% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 11.6%. With an estimated area of 5,523.31 square kilometers, Yabelo has an estimated population density of 14.9 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 21.1.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 56,878, of whom 28,444 were men and 28,434 women; 10,322 or 18.15% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Yabelo were the Oromo (86.92%), the Burji (6.14%), the Amhara (3.71%), and the Konso (1.6%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.86% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 92.79%, 4.27% spoke Amharic, and 1.12% spoke Burji; the remaining 1.85% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants practiced traditional beliefs, with 47.06% of the population reporting answers that fell under that category, while 14.39% professed 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 Chri ...
, 9.64% of the population were Muslim, 6.2% were Protestant
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 ...
, and 1.05% were Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region'', Vol. 1, part 1
Tables 2.1, 2.13, 2.16, 2.20 (accessed 6 April 2009)
Notes
{{Districts of the Oromia Region
Districts of Oromia Region