Kofele

Kofele is a town in southern Ethiopia, and the administrative center of the Kofele woreda. Located in the Mirab Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 7°00′N 38°45′E / 7.000°N 38.750°E / 7.000; 38.750 with an elevation of 2695 meters above sea level.

According to the Oromia Regional government, there are two telephone stations and a post office agent in Kofele. Primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools are present, as well as medical and veterinary clinics. Although electricity is available, there are no fuel stations, banks or insurance organizations in Kofele.

History

Kofele was founded on the orders of Balambaras Chakiiso Tuuri in the 1910s; Waako Oborra laid out the market where the town has since occupied. The community was important at the beginning as an assembly point for long-distance caravans because of its water, grazing and strategic location. In the 1930s, Swedish missionaries operated a small school in Kofele; they returned to the town after the Italian occupation. By 1956, however, the road connecting Kofele to Shashamene remained so poor that it took 6 hours to drive the 25 kilometers.

Kofele (woreda)

Kofele is one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is named after the administrative center of the woreda, Kofele. Part of the Mirab Arsi Zone, Kofele is bordered on the south by the Kokosa, on the west by the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, on the northwest by the Shashamene Zuria, on the north by Kore, on the east by Gedeb Asasa, and on the south east by Dodola. Other towns in Kofele include Wabe Gefersa.

Overview

The altitude of this woreda ranges from 2000 to 3050 meters above sea level; Mount Duro is the highest point. Rivers include the 35 kilometers of the Anjelo, 30 kilometers of the Totalamo, and 35 kilometers of the Ashoka, all of which are tributaries of the Shebelle River. A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 30% is arable or cultivable, 29% pasture, 2.9% forest, and the remaining 38.1% is considered swampy, mountainous or otherwise unusable. Vegetables are an important cash crop; hides and skins are the primary export for Kofele.