Mieso, Oromia (woreda)
Encyclopedia
Mieso is one of the 180 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...

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 Mirab Hararghe Zone
Mirab Hararghe Zone
Mirab Hararghe is one of the 17 Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. Mirab Hararghe takes its name from the former province of Hararghe. Mirab Harerge is bordered on the south by the Shebelle River which separates it from Bale, on the southwest by Arsi, on the northwest by the Afar Region, on...

, Mieso is bordered on the south by Guba Koricha
Guba Koricha
Guba Koricha is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone, Guba Koricha, according to the OCHA map is bordered on the south by Darolebu, on the southwest by the Arsi Zone, on the west by the Afar Region, on the north by Mieso, on the northeast by...

, on the west by the Afar Region
Afar Region
Afar is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, and is the homeland of the Afar people. Formerly known as Region 2, its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Asseb highway is under construction....

, on the north by the Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

, on the east by Doba
Doba (woreda)
Doba is one of the 180 woredas, or administrative wards, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after its major town Doba. Part of the Mirab Hararghe Zone, Doba is bordered on the south by Chiro, on the west by Mieso, on the north by the Somali Region, on the east by the Misraq Hararghe...

 and on the southeast by Chiro
Chiro (woreda)
Chiro is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mirab Hararghe Zone, Chiro is bordered on the south by Kuni, on the west by Guba Koricha, on the northwest by Mieso, on the north by Doba, on the northeast by Tulo, and on the east by the Galetti River which separates it...

. Towns in Mieso include Arba Bordode, Asabot
Asabot
Asabot is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Named after a nearby mountain, this town is located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, with a latitude and longitude of . It is served by a railway station on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway....

, Kora
Kora, Ethiopia
Kora is a town in central Ethiopia. It is one of a number of populated places in the country with this name.-References:*-External links:*...

, Mieso
Mieso
Mieso is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1394 meters above sea level.- Overview :...

 and Mulu
Mulu, Ethiopia
Mulu is a town in eastern Ethiopia, located in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region. It is one of six towns in Mieso woreda. Mulu is served by a station on the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad....

.

Overview

The altitude of Mieso ranges from 1107 to 3106 meters above sea level; the highest point is Mount Asabot (1523 meters). Rivers include the Beke. A survey of the land in Mieso shows that 11.5% is arable or cultivable (10.7% of the total area was under annual crops), 23.7% cultivable if water were available, 8.9% pasture, 28.7% forest or brushland, and the remaining 27.3% is considered hilly, built-up or otherwise 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 haricot beans are important cash crops. Local points of interest in Mieso woreda include the Monastery of Asabot Selassie, located at the top of Mount Asabot, 20 kilometers northeast of the town of Asabot. This woreda is served by the Ethio-Djibouti Railways
Ethio-Djibouti Railways
The Ethio-Djibouti Railways, also Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enterprise, is the successor of the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia and jointly owned by the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti. It was formed after Djibouti gained independence in 1977 and received the French shares of the Imperial...

, with stops at Arba Bordode, Asabot, Kora, Mieso and Mulu.

In 8 of the 37 kebele
Kebele
A kebele is the smallest administrative unit of Ethiopia similar to ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people...

s, the predominant agricultural practice is pastoralism; some pastoralists are sedentary and other migrate with their herds in search of forage and water. Cattle and goats are the most common livestock, and the vegetation is primarily acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

 with grass cover beneath. Mieso reportedly has become, since 2003, one of the major markets of goats supplying the slaughterhouses in Mojo
Mojo, Ethiopia
Mojo is a town in central Ethiopia, named after the nearby Modjo River. Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1788 and 1825 meters above sea level...

 and Metehara
Metehara
Metehara is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 947 meters above sea level....

 which export mutton. In 2005 there were 5 goat meatpacking companies based in this woreda, which included ELFORA Agro-Industries
Elfora
Elfora is a village in the Tiankoura Department of Bougouriba Province in south-western Burkina Faso. The village has a population of 431....

.

There are seven non–agricultural cooperatives organized in this woreda. Three of these are multipurpose, another three specialize in mining, while the last one is dedicated to saving and credit. There are also 13 farmers' cooperatives: 9 multipurpose, 2 credit and saving, and 2 dairy cooperatives run by women which are at the beginning stage of organization. There is also one self-initiated cooperative in Oda Roba kebele, for the purpose of crop harvesting. There are no micro-finance institutions in Mieso.

History

It was in this woreda where Emperor Iyasu V
Iyasu V of Ethiopia
Iyasu V , also known as Lij Iyasu was the designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia . His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob...

, hurrying back to the capital city of Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

 to deal with a palace coup, was defeated by the plotters in October, 1916. In the 1950s, the woreda was one of the about fifteen most important cotton production areas
in Ethiopia outside of Eritrea.

Numerous conflicts between the local Oromos
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...

 and Somalis
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 in Mieso followed the October 2004 referendum to establish the disputed boundary between the Oromia and Somali Region
Somali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...

s; over 2,500 people displaced from their homes in December 2004 had sought refuge in the woreda. Conflicts between refugees and local people had erupted at Arba Bordode, Mieso and Mulu by mid-February. NGOs working in the area reported these conflicts continued in the town of Mieso as late as 14 July 2005.

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency
Central 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 137,126, of whom 66,553 are men and 70,573 are women; 36,165 or 26.37% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.6%. With an estimated area of 2,573.44 square kilometers, Mieso has an estimated population density of 53.3 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 101.8.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 91,572, of whom 47,061 were men and 44,511 women; 18,073 or 19.74% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of Mulu, who were not counted. Based on population sizes registered during the preliminary census work, Mulu was estimated to have 2,129 inhabitants, of whom 1,080 were men and 1,049 women.) The four largest ethnic groups reported in Mieso 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...

 (88.09%), the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 (5.77%), 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...

 (3.46%), and the Argobba
Argobba people
The Argobba are a Muslim people group that is spread out through isolated village networks and towns in the northeast and east of Ethiopia. The Argobba have typically been astute traders and merchants, and have adjusted to the economic trends in their area...

 (0.66%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.02% 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 88.37%, 5.61% 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 5.29% spoke Somali
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....

; the remaining 0.73% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants 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...

, with 95.23% of the population reporting they practiced that belief, while 4.55% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.
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