Gabela (Angola)

Gabela
Gabela
Coordinates	10 ° 51 ′  S , 14 ° 22 ′  E Coordinates: 10 ° 51 ′  S , 14 ° 22 ′  E
Basic data
Country	Angola
province	Cuanza Sul
Município	Amboim
height	942 m
surface	4642 km²
Residents	126,000
density	27.1  Ew. / km²

Gabela is a city and county in Angola . Rare endemic bird species live here, such as the Angola shrike , whose scientific name Prionops gabela refers to the city.

history

The area was increasingly developed under Portuguese colonial rule with the promotion of coffee cultivation. In 1941 the parish church Igreja paroquial de Gabela was built.

The company Companhia Angolana de Agricultura (CADA, "Angolan Agricultural Company") established its headquarters here in 1944 and was founded on August 18, 1944. The CADA dedicated itself to the production of coffee and oil palms on its plantations . Around the seat of the CADA, the village of Boa Entrada emerged, which was elevated to a small town ( Vila ) and became the administrative seat of Gabelas.

The region developed into the most important coffee-growing area in Angola, and the area around Gabela in particular was able to steadily increase its production. Between 1973 and 1974, Angola had the largest coffee production in Africa with over 204,000 tons. With the outbreak of the Angolan civil war in 1975, the Portuguese coffee planters left their plantations and coffee growing fell into disrepair. The CADA initially continued to function and employed 6,000 people in 1977. On December 31, 1977, the CADA was nationalized with all machinery, health and educational facilities. In the course of the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), however, the facilities of the CADA continued to suffer severe damage and increasingly fell into disrepair.

Boa Entrada has since hoped for a renovation and revitalization of the CADA facilities to create employment and revitalize the small town's economic life. Since 2013, the cultivation of Robusta coffee has been intensified again with the support of the provincial government. Despite all the progress, the area of ​​Gabela has so far not regained its former importance.

administration

Gabela is the seat of a municipality of the same name (Comuna) in the district ( Município ) of Amboim , in the province of Cuanza Sul . It is the seat of the Amboim district.

The main town of Gabelas is the small town of Boa Entrada, which is also the seat of a posto administrativo , a smaller administrative unit next to the Comuna.

economy

A significant part of Angola's coffee production comes from the area around the town of Gabela. Until the mid-1970s, Gabela was one of Angola's most prosperous cities thanks to its coffee-growing income. In the meantime coffee cultivation has increased again, and Gabela hopes to continue its former importance.

sons and daughters of the town

• Ana de Santana (* 1960), Angolan poet and writer

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.monumentos.pt , accessed on February 1, 2014
2. ^ Jean Charles Pinheira : Em paz por terras de Angola . 1st edition, Zebra Publicações, Lisbon 2010, p. 64f ( ISBN 978-989-8391-03-2 )
3. ↑ Article of December 25, 2011 on the hoped-for end to the neglect of the small town of Boa Entrada in Gabela , news portal www.angolabelazebelo.com, accessed on April 21, 2014
4. ↑ Article from March 3, 2013 ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at www.angola24.net, accessed February 1, 2014