Ginde Beret

Ginde Beret (Afan Oromo: Gindabarat) is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the West Shewa Zone, Ginde Beret is bordered on the south by Jeldu, on the southwest by Ambo, on the west by the Guder River which separates it from the Horo Guduru Welega Zone, on the north by the Abay River which separates it from the Amhara Region, on the east by the Muger River which separates it from the North Shewa Zone, and on the southeast by Meta Robi. The major town in Gindeberet is Kachise (also called Kachisi). Abuna Gindeberet woreda was separated from Ginde Beret.

Overview

This woreda is divided into two agro-ecological zones, locally called badda-daree, or mid-land, which comprises 40% of the total area and has an altitude ranging between 1500 and 2604 meters above sea level, and gammojjii, or low-lands, which comprises 60% and has an altitude between 1000 and 2500 meters; the badda-daree zone is much cooler and receives more rainfall than the gammojjii. The cultivated area covers 40.8% of the woreda (of which 32.7% of the total area is planted in annual crops), while 36.1% is pasture, 1.3% forest, 9% shrubland, 8.8% degraded on non-arable land, 2% is covered by bodies of water, and all other categories of land makes up the remaining 2%.[1]

In 1999, 55 kilometers of gravel road were built in Gindeberet by students, farmers and civil servants from the area.[2]

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 104,595, of whom 52,726 were men and 51,869 were women; 11,082 or 10.56% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants were Protestant, with 55.96% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 34.12% of the population said they practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 9.18% practiced traditional religions.[3]

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 204,413, of whom 105,369 are men and 99,044 are women; 7,805 or 3.82% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 12.3%. With an estimated area of 2,417.82 square kilometers, Ginde Beret has an estimated population density of 84.5 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 152.8.[4]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 147,437, of whom 71,799 were men and 75,638 women; 4,363 or 2.96% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. The two largest ethnic groups reported in Ginde Beret were the Oromo (97.28%), and the Amhara (2.1%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.71% of the population. The Oromo language was spoken as a first language by 98.36%, and 1.58% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.06% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 53.3% of the population reporting they practiced that belief, while 24.58% practiced traditional beliefs, and 21.44% of the population said they were Protestant.[5]

Notes

1. Teshome Hunduma, "Local Crop Genetic Resource Utilization and Management in Gindeberet, west central Ethiopia", Master's thesis for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (May 2006), pp. 27-29
2. "70 km Gravel Roads Built Through Community Participation" Archived 2004-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Walta Information Center (accessed 29 April 2010)
3. 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region, Vol. 1 Archived November 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.5, 3.4 (accessed 13 January 2012)
4. CSA 2005 National Statistics Archived November 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Tables B.3 and B.4
5. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region, Vol. 1, part 1 Archived November 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.13, 2.16, 2.20 (accessed 6 April 2009)