Tippi, Ethiopia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Tippi
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pushpin_label_position = right
pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ethiopia
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Ethiopia
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples'
subdivision_type2 = Zone
subdivision_name2 = Keficho Shekicho
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population_total = 19,231
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timezone = EAT
utc_offset = +3
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latd=7 |latm=12 |latNS=N
longd=35 |longm=27 |longEW=E
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elevation_m = 1097
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footnotes = Tippi (also transliterated Tepi) is a town in southern Ethiopia. The vowels in the name are pronounced as in the English words "tape" and "pea", despite the misleading spelling used by some. Located in the Keficho Shekicho Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of coord|7|12|N|35|27|E with a mean elevation of 1,097 meters above sea level. The town is said to be named after a Majangir man who used have a bee hive in the large tree that stood in the market.

Tippi hosts an airport (ICAO code TIE IATA code HATP) with a long, smooth but unpaved runway, the destination of scheduled flights by Ethiopian Airlines since the 1960s. Since 1966, the town has had a medical clinic and the same year the road to Tippi was improved. Electricity became available in 1984. The town also has postal service. [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/t/ORTTEF.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 4 September 2007)] This town has long been a market and commercial center for the area. Construction of all-weather roads were begun in the late 1970s, and by 1988 they extended from Tippi in three directions: south to Mizan Teferi (built with Cuban help), southeast to Shishinda (toward Bonga), and north to Gore. An elementary school was begun in Tippi about the time the Italians left, and the town has had a high school since about 1980.

Near the city is the "Tepi Coffee Plantation Project", which is the second-largest coffee plantation in Ethiopia covering 6,205 hectares. Run by the state, it produces over 2,500 tonnes of raw arabica beans each year. The surrounding area is very hilly and was densely forested. The area claims to be Ethiopia’s center for turmeric, and also exports cardamom, ginger, corn, honey, beeswax, timber, sugar cane, bananas, mangoes, and other fruit. Due to the fly-borne disease trypanosomiasis, cattle do poorly in the area, so none are used for plowing. The disease also prevents equines from being raised there.

The population of the immediate area has greatly increased since the 1970s and, based on 2005 figures from the Central Statistical Agency, this town has an estimated total population of 19,231, of whom 10,113 were males and 9,118 were females. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.4] Tippi is the largest settlement in Yeki woreda.

The town has Ethiopian Orthodox churches, a mosque, and Protestant churches. There is also a strong following of a local spirit cult following Bulafo and Ginabo. Northeast of the town is an inactive shield volcano 2728 meters in height, which volcanologists call "Tepi". [ [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0201-292 Global Volcanism Program | Tepi | Summary ] ]

History

People report that there had been a small Italian military presence there during World War II. The countryside around Tippi has long been multiethnic, including significant numbers of Majangir, Shakacho, Sheko, Kafficho, and Oromo. Most of the city's residents (or their parents) are from other parts of Ethiopia, adding even more ethnic groups to the mix. [Vaughan, Sarah. 2003. "Ethnicity and Power." PhD dissertation, University of Edinburgh.] In the 1980s, because of famine, many people from other provinces were resettled nearby. All this has led to conflicts under ethnic federalism, since no ethnic group comprises a majority.

There has been occasional armed conflict in the area since 1991, involving people from the surrounding area dividing along ethnic lines. [Vaughan, "Ethnicity and Power", pp. 272ff]

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