Damot Gale

Damot Gale is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Wolayita Zone, Damot Gale is bordered on the south by Sodo Zuria, on the west by Boloso Sore, on the north by the Hadiya Zone, and on the east by Damot Weyde. The administrative center of Damot Gale is Boditi.

Damot Gale has 29 kilometers of asphalt roads, 1 kilometer of all-weather road and 57 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 209 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.^[1]

History

A megalithic site with four steles has been found within Damot Gale.^[2]

In March 1996, Damot Gale suffered a hailstorm that destroyed not only an estimated 625 hectares of crop land but the roofs of 266 houses. The number of households affected was 1,956, whom the local Committee for Disaster Prevention and Preparation provided with tents and plastic sheets, and to whom the NGO Redd Barna handed out crop seeds.^[3]

With the assistance of a € 76,200 loan from the Greek government, as of 2006^[update] construction is underway to build the Damte earthen dam, a pilot project which will provide a reliable source of drinkable water for the inhabitants of this woreda. The Ethiopian government hopes to use this project as an example in other areas of the country that faces a water shortage.^[4]

Demographics

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 311,561, of whom 158,017 were men and 153,544 were women; 24,281 or 7.79% of its population are urban dwellers, which is less than the Zone average of 8.5%. With an estimated area of 429.07 square kilometers, Damot Gale has an estimated population density of 726.1 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 156.5.^[5]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 217,336 of whom 107,201 were men and 110,135 were women; 13,400 or 6.17% of its population were urban dwellers. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Damot Gale were the Welayta (94.68%), the Hadiya (2.78%), the Amhara (0.78%), and the Mareqo or Libido (0.77%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.99% of the population. Welayta is spoken as a first language by 96.39%, 1.62% Hadiya, 0.77% Amharic, and 0.61% speak Libido; the remaining 0.61% spoke all other primary languages reported. Concerning religious beliefs, the 1994 census reported that 42.33% of the population said they were Protestants, 34.1% practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 19.94% were Roman Catholic.^[6]

Notes

1. ^ " Detailed statistics on roads", SNNPR Bureau of Finance and Economic Development website (accessed 3 September 2009)
2. ^ "Local History in Ethiopia" The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 3 May 2009)
3. ^ "Field Trip Report to Welayita and North Omo (2 - 6 April)", UNDP-EUE Report (accessed 19 February 2009)
4. ^ "Greece finances earth dam construction in SNNPS" (WIC)
5. ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Tables B.3 and B.4
6. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.12, 2.15, 2.19 (accessed 30 December 2008)

Coordinates: 7°00′N 37°50′E / 7°N 37.833°E / 7; 37.833