Dinsho
Encyclopedia
Dinsho is a village in south-central Ethiopia
. Located in the Bale Zone
of the Oromia Region
in the heart of the Bale Mountains
, this village has a latitude and longitude of 7°05′N 39°45′E and an elevation of 3207 meters. It is one of two towns in Sinanana Dinsho
woreda
.
(AD 1941/2) adjacent to the main road running between Goba
and Shashamane
, and by 2000 the town had expanded considerably with the construction of approximately 60 houses around a new market site on the north side of the town. In her 2000 visit, Flintan found that the commercial and retail activities of Dinso consisted largely of houses, shops, ‘hotels’ and tea houses.
She found the shops were "poorly stocked with few tinned and some dried goods such as spaghetti and
plain biscuits." The principal tourism
services was the Wolf’s Den Café which offers trekking facilities including the hiring of guides and horses.
A Town Forum was established in AD 1991 and a Town Office five years later; Ibrahim Jundaa was elected Town Chairman in 1991, who was still Chairman when Flintan visited in 2000. Dinsho has both a primary and a secondary school; the former was rebuilt in the late 1990s and the latter built around 1970. A new health clinic was built around 1996, replacing the old one which had become dilapidated. There are two diesel-powered mills in the town for grinding barley. In 2000, Dinsho had two market days: a small local one on Saturdays and a larger one on Tuesday which draws people from villages around the town, as far as 25 kilometers away; these markets are held in different open places. A mosque had been built in the middle of town shortly before Flintan's village to serve the needs of the Moslem
majority, while an older Christian church was "tucked away behind trees and the river."
The Scandinavian style lodge built in the early 1990s, which replaced the previous guest house, built by a Belgian sheep-herder, which had burned down in November, 1982. There is intermittent electricity to the town.
The headquarters of Bale Mountains National Park
is situated a few kilometers outside of Dinsho. The town was also the main base for the Ethiopian wolf
conservation project for many years, and some wolves can be found nearby.
in 2005, Dinsho has an estimated total population of 3,609 of whom 1,772 were males and 1,837 were females. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 2,019 of whom 961 were males and 1,058 were females.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Bale Zone
Bale Zone
Bale is one of the 17 zones in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Bale is named for the former kingdom of Bale, which was in approximately the same area...
of the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
in the heart of the Bale Mountains
Bale Mountains
The Bale Mountains are a range of mountains in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia, south of the Awash River. They include Tullu Demtu, the second-highest mountain in Ethiopia , and Mount Batu . The Weyib River, a tributary of the Jubba River, rises in these mountains east of Goba...
, this village has a latitude and longitude of 7°05′N 39°45′E and an elevation of 3207 meters. It is one of two towns in Sinanana Dinsho
Sinanana Dinsho
Sinanana Dinsho is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Bale Zone, Sinanana Dinsho is bordered on the south by the Mena River which separates it from Goba, on the west by Adaba, on the northwest by Agarfa, on the northeast by Gaserana Gololcha, on the east by Ginir,...
woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
.
Overview
Dinsho originally was a small village situated to the west of its current site; Fiona Flintan was shown the solitary, aged eucalyptus tree that marked the marketplace of the original site. The village was moved in 1934 ECEthiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar , also called the Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea...
(AD 1941/2) adjacent to the main road running between Goba
Goba
Goba is a town in south-central Ethiopia. Located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region approximately 446 km southeast of Addis Ababa, this city has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,743 meters above sea level...
and Shashamane
Shashamane
Shashamane is a town in central Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. The city lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town, about from the capital of Addis Ababa...
, and by 2000 the town had expanded considerably with the construction of approximately 60 houses around a new market site on the north side of the town. In her 2000 visit, Flintan found that the commercial and retail activities of Dinso consisted largely of houses, shops, ‘hotels’ and tea houses.
She found the shops were "poorly stocked with few tinned and some dried goods such as spaghetti and
plain biscuits." The principal tourism
Tourism in Ethiopia
Tourism in Ethiopia accounted for 5.5% of the country's gross domestic product in 2006, having barely increased 2% over the previous year. The government is proving its commitment and willingness to develop tourism through a number of initiatives...
services was the Wolf’s Den Café which offers trekking facilities including the hiring of guides and horses.
A Town Forum was established in AD 1991 and a Town Office five years later; Ibrahim Jundaa was elected Town Chairman in 1991, who was still Chairman when Flintan visited in 2000. Dinsho has both a primary and a secondary school; the former was rebuilt in the late 1990s and the latter built around 1970. A new health clinic was built around 1996, replacing the old one which had become dilapidated. There are two diesel-powered mills in the town for grinding barley. In 2000, Dinsho had two market days: a small local one on Saturdays and a larger one on Tuesday which draws people from villages around the town, as far as 25 kilometers away; these markets are held in different open places. A mosque had been built in the middle of town shortly before Flintan's village to serve the needs of the Moslem
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
majority, while an older Christian church was "tucked away behind trees and the river."
The Scandinavian style lodge built in the early 1990s, which replaced the previous guest house, built by a Belgian sheep-herder, which had burned down in November, 1982. There is intermittent electricity to the town.
The headquarters of Bale Mountains National Park
Bale Mountains National Park
The Bale Mountains National Park is a national park in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia. Created in 1970, this park covers about 2,200 square kilometers of the Bale Mountains to the west and southwest of Goba in the Bale Zone...
is situated a few kilometers outside of Dinsho. The town was also the main base for the Ethiopian wolf
Ethiopian Wolf
The Ethiopian wolf , also known as the Abyssinian wolf, Abyssinian fox, red jackal, Simien fox, or Simien jackal is a canid native to Africa...
conservation project for many years, and some wolves can be found nearby.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency 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, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, Dinsho has an estimated total population of 3,609 of whom 1,772 were males and 1,837 were females. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 2,019 of whom 961 were males and 1,058 were females.