Kersa, Jimma

Kersa is one of the woredas in the Jimma Zone of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by Dedo, on the southwest by Seka Chekorsa, on the west by Mana, on the north by Limmu Kosa, on the northeast by Tiro Afeta, and on the southeast by Omo Nada. Towns and cities in Kersa include Jimma, the zone's capital, and Serbo.

Overview

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1740 to 2660 meters above sea level; mountains include Sume, Gora, Kero, Folla and Jiren. Perennial rivers include the Gilgel Gibe, Karsa, Bulbul, Melekta and the Birbirsa. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 58.6% is arable or cultivable (37.5% was under annual crops), 17.3% pasture, 6.0% forest, and the remaining 18.9% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable.Coffee is an important cash crop of this woreda. Over 50 square kilometers are planted with this crop.

Industry in the woreda includes 14 grain mills. There were 27 Farmers Associations with 16,559 members and 4 Farmers Service Cooperatives with 4,033 members. Kersa has 14 kilometers of dry-weather and "a few" kilometers of all-weather road, for a minimum average road density of 14.3 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, which is less than the Zonal average of 70 per 1000 square kilometers. About 55% of the urban and 11.35% of the rural population has access to drinking water.

Jimma

Jimma (Oromo: Jimma, Amharic: ጅማ^?), also spelled Jima, is the largest city in south-western Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of 7°40′N 36°50′E / 7.667°N 36.833°E / 7.667; 36.833. The town was the capital of Kaffa Province until the province was dissolved. Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administratively as a special Zone.

Herbert S. Lewis states that in the early 1960s it was "the greatest market in all of south-western Ethiopia. On a good day in the dry season it attracts up to thirty thousand people."

History

What is now Jimma's northern suburb of Jiren was the capital of a large Oromo kingdom until the late 19th century. Originally named Hirmata, the city owed its importance in the 19th century to being located on the caravan route between Shewa and the Kingdom of Kaffa, as well as being only six miles from the palace of the king of Jimma.

According to Donald Levine, in the early 19th century the market attracted thousands of people from neighboring regions: "Amhara from Gojjam and Shoa, Oromo from all the Gibe Kingdoms and numerous representatives of the Lacustrine and Omotic groups, including Timbaro, Qabena, Kefa, Janjero, Welamo, Konta and several others".