Kaffa (province)

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Map of the provinces of Ethiopia, with Kaffa in the southwest

Kaffa (ከፋ) was until 1998 a province in the southwest of Ethiopia with an area of ​​54,600 km² and two and a half million inhabitants. The capital of the province was Jimma .

geography

The area is mainly mountainous to over 3500 m. It is limited to the east by the Omo . The climate is mild and there is lush tropical vegetation.

history

Kaffa was founded as an independent kingdom around 1400 and was conquered by Menelik II in 1897 . The first known city, Shadda , was founded around 1500. In 1998 the province was incorporated into the new region of the southern nations, nationalities and peoples .

economy

Kaffa is the original home of coffee , which grows wild in countless varieties in the mountain rainforests. All plants of the genus coffea arabica around the world are descendants of local shrubs.

Coffee was the main source of income for the population for a long time, but due to the sharp drop in world market prices for coffee, the residents are increasingly having to switch to other products. The structure of the region is severely damaged by the creation of new agricultural land at the expense of the rainforests.

The rainforests that used to rule the Kaffa area have now shrunk to only 3% of the original area due to slash and burn for new settlement areas and as the only energy source in the region; In the last 30 years alone, 60% of the tree population has been lost.

A large rainforest protection project has existed for several years now, which relies on the use of the last wild coffee stocks that grow in the rainforest. Around 30 cooperatives are currently harvesting and marketing this coffee specialty and have helped over 40,000 people earn an income.

Since 2010 is a region of Kaffa a recognized biosphere reserve of UNESCO as part of the MAB program .

proof

  1. ↑ List of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

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