Gida Kiremu
Encyclopedia
Gida Kiremu is one of the 180 woreda
s in the Oromia Region
of Ethiopia
. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone
, Gida Kiremu is bordered on the south by Guto Wayu
, on the west by Limmu
, on the northwest by Ibantu
, on the north by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the east by Amuru Jarte
, and on the southeast by Abe Dongoro
. The administrative center of the woreda is Gida Ayana; other towns in Gida Kiremu include Gutin and Kiremu.
This woreda is characterized by undulating hills north of Dicho Ridge and by plains south of it; it was once covered by extensive forests, but as of 2005 only a few fragments remain. Rivers within the woreda include the Werabessa, Wajja
, Chinia and Werabu. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 65.7% is arable or cultivable (61% was under annual crops), 22.8% pasture, 8.7% forest, and the remaining 2.8% is considered unusable. Sesame
and khat
are two important cash crops. Another one is Coffee
, but less than 20 km² is planted with this crop.
Industry in the woreda includes 13 grain mills; granite
has been identified as a potential commercial resource. There were 22 Farmers Associations with 19,168 members and 14 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 9,982 members. Gida Kiremu has 143 kilometers of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 60.3 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 27% of the total population has access to drinking water
.
settlers living in this woreda had been forced to flee due to violence from local Oromo
. Some of the settlers were killed; 500 houses were burned and 3,000 head of cattle stolen. According to the U.S. State Department, one Oromo policeman and several Amhara settlers were killed.
Despite these reports, Gida Kirmeu was selected two years later by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas. Along with Guto Wayu and Jimma Arjo
, Gida Kiremu became the home for a total of 8435 heads of households and 31,781 total family members in that year. Gida Kiremu was selected again in 2004 and along with Amuru Jarte, Bila Seyo
, Ibantu, Jimma Arjo, Limmu and Nunu Kumba
became the new home of another 22,462 heads of households and 112,310 total family members.
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 144,866, of whom 72,673 are men and 72,193 are women; 21,777 or 15.03% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 13.9%. With an estimated area of 2,370.94 square kilometers, Gida Kiremu has an estimated population density of 61.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 81.4. It is the second largest woreda in Misraq Welega Zone.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 101,766, of whom 50,805 were men and 50,961 women; 12,176 or 11.96% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gida Kiremu were the Oromo
(67.65%), the Amhara
(29.01%), and the Tigray
(3.25%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.09% of the population. Oromiffa
was spoken as a first language by 67.43%, 29.31% spoke Amharic
, and 3.19% spoke Tigrinya
; the remaining 0.07% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 77.59% of the population reporting they observed this faith, while 15.45% of the population said they were Moslem
, and 6.53% were Protestant
.
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...
s in the Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
of Ethiopia
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...
. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone
Misraq Welega Zone
Misraq Welega is one of the 12 Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone acquired its name from the former province of Welega...
, Gida Kiremu is bordered on the south by Guto Wayu
Guto Wayu
Guto Wayu is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Guto Wayu is bordered on the south by Nunu Kumba, on the southwest by Jimma Arjo and Diga Leka, on the west by Sasiga, on the northwest by Limmu and Gida Kiremu, on the northeast by Bila Seyo, on...
, on the west by Limmu
Limmu (woreda)
Limmu is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Limmu is bordered on the south by an exclave of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the southwest by Sasiga, on the west by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the north by Ibantu, and on the east by Gida...
, on the northwest by Ibantu
Ibantu
Ibantu is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Ibantu is bordered on the south by Limmu, on the west and north by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, and on the east by Gida Kiremu. The administrative center of this woreda is Hinde.- Overview :Important...
, on the north by the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, on the east by Amuru Jarte
Amuru Jarte
Amuru Jarte is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Amuru Jarte is bordered on the south by Jimma Horo, on the southwest by Abe Dongoro, on the west by Gida Kiremu, on the north by the Abay River which separates it from the Amhara Region, and on...
, and on the southeast by Abe Dongoro
Abe Dongoro
Abe Dongoro is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Abe Dongoro is bordered on the south by Bila Seyo, on the west by Gida Kiremu, on the north by Amuru Jarte, and on the east by Jimma Horo...
. The administrative center of the woreda is Gida Ayana; other towns in Gida Kiremu include Gutin and Kiremu.
This woreda is characterized by undulating hills north of Dicho Ridge and by plains south of it; it was once covered by extensive forests, but as of 2005 only a few fragments remain. Rivers within the woreda include the Werabessa, Wajja
Wajja River
Wajja River is a river of western Ethiopia. It is a tributary of the Hanger River, and part of the watershed of the Blue Nile....
, Chinia and Werabu. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 65.7% is arable or cultivable (61% was under annual crops), 22.8% pasture, 8.7% forest, and the remaining 2.8% is considered unusable. Sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
and khat
Khat
Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
are two important cash crops. Another one is Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, but less than 20 km² is planted with this crop.
Industry in the woreda includes 13 grain mills; granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
has been identified as a potential commercial resource. There were 22 Farmers Associations with 19,168 members and 14 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 9,982 members. Gida Kiremu has 143 kilometers of all-weather road, for an average of road density of 60.3 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers. About 27% of the total population has access to drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
.
History
There were reports in February 2001 that 12,000 AmharaAmhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
settlers living in this woreda had been forced to flee due to violence from local Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
. Some of the settlers were killed; 500 houses were burned and 3,000 head of cattle stolen. According to the U.S. State Department, one Oromo policeman and several Amhara settlers were killed.
Despite these reports, Gida Kirmeu was selected two years later by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ethiopia)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the Ethiopian government ministry which oversees the agricultural and rural development policies of Ethiopia on a Federal level...
as an area for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas. Along with Guto Wayu and Jimma Arjo
Jimma Arjo
Jimma Arjo is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It shares the name of one of the subgroups of the Oromo people, the Jimma Arjo. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Jimma Arjo is bordered on the southwest by the Didessa River which separates it from the Illubabor Zone, on the...
, Gida Kiremu became the home for a total of 8435 heads of households and 31,781 total family members in that year. Gida Kiremu was selected again in 2004 and along with Amuru Jarte, Bila Seyo
Bila Seyo
Bila Seyo is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Bila Seyo is bordered on the south by Wama Bonaya, on the southwest by Sibu Sire, on the west by Guto Wayu, on the north by Abe Dongoro, on the northeast by Jimma Horo, and on the east by the...
, Ibantu, Jimma Arjo, Limmu and Nunu Kumba
Nunu Kumba
Nunu Kumba is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Welega Zone, Nunu Kumba is bordered on the southwest by the Didessa River which separates it from the Illubabor Zone, on the northwest by Jimma Arjo, on the north by Guto Wayu, on the northeast by Wama Bonaya,...
became the new home of another 22,462 heads of households and 112,310 total family members.
Demographics
Based on figures published by 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, this woreda has an estimated total population of 144,866, of whom 72,673 are men and 72,193 are women; 21,777 or 15.03% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 13.9%. With an estimated area of 2,370.94 square kilometers, Gida Kiremu has an estimated population density of 61.1 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 81.4. It is the second largest woreda in Misraq Welega Zone.
The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 101,766, of whom 50,805 were men and 50,961 women; 12,176 or 11.96% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gida Kiremu were the Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
(67.65%), the Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
(29.01%), and the Tigray
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
(3.25%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.09% of the population. Oromiffa
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...
was spoken as a first language by 67.43%, 29.31% spoke Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, and 3.19% spoke Tigrinya
Tigrinya language
Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrnia, Tigrina, Tigriña, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic language spoken by the Tigrinya people in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two main languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it...
; the remaining 0.07% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 77.59% of the population reporting they observed this faith, while 15.45% of the population said they were 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...
, and 6.53% were Protestant
P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...
.