Tembaro Special Woreda (Amharic: ጠምባሮ ልዩ ወረዳ) is one of three special woredas in Ethiopia’s Central Ethiopia Region, administered from Mudula. It is the homeland of the Tembaro people and counted 105,573 residents at the 2007 census, with a CSA projection of 147,876 for 2022. Tembaro became a special woreda on 19 August 2023, when the former SNNPR was reorganised and the Central Ethiopia Region was created; before that it was a woreda of the Kembata Tembaro Zone.
| Region | Central Ethiopia |
| Status | Special woreda since 19 August 2023 |
| Administrative centre | Mudula |
| Former name | Part of Omo Sheleko woreda |
| Population (2007 census) | 105,573 |
| Population (2022 proj.) | 147,876 |
| Main language | Tembaro |
Towns & Localities
Tembaro is a single woreda with no subordinate districts. Mudula is the administrative centre and the main market; the other named places are small rural centres.
| Place | Role |
|---|---|
| Mudula | Administrative centre and main market |
| Keleta | Rural centre |
| Ambukuna | Rural centre |
| Hodo | Rural centre |
Roughly one resident in fourteen lived in a town at the last census. The rest of the woreda is farmland worked from dispersed homesteads.
Geography
Tembaro lies on the western edge of the Kembata highlands, where the land breaks towards the Omo valley. Altitudes fall from cool highland around Mudula to warmer mid-altitude ground in the west and south.
The woreda borders Dawro Zone to the south, Hadiya Zone to the north and west, the Hadero Tunto district of Kembata Zone to the east, and Wolayita Zone to the south-east.
Demographics
The 2007 census recorded 105,573 people in the woreda, and the CSA’s 2022 projection is 147,876. Older summaries of this woreda quote 480,573, which is the total for the whole Kembata Tembaro Zone of that date rather than for Tembaro alone.
Tembaro, sometimes written Timbaro or Tembarsa, is the main first language. It is a Highland East Cushitic language close to Kambaata, and Tembaro speakers accounted for 26.46% of the pre-split Kembata Tembaro Zone at the 2007 census. Hadiya and Kambaata are also spoken, reflecting the woreda’s boundaries with both. Protestant Christianity is the majority faith, reported by about three-quarters of residents, with Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity near 15% and smaller Catholic, Muslim and traditional-religion communities.
Economy & Local Life
Crop production and livestock rearing are the two livelihoods here. Households grow cereals alongside enset and root crops, and coffee is the main cash crop on the mid-altitude slopes. Cattle, sheep and goats are kept on most holdings and traded at Mudula. Drought and declining soil fertility have pressed on yields for years, and holdings are small because population density is high. The woreda has around 40 km of all-weather road and 41 km of dry-weather road, so market access is the limiting factor for coffee and grain sales.
History
Tembaro was part of Omo Sheleko woreda, which was later divided into Hadero Tunto and Tembaro. Omo Sheleko covered about 467 square kilometres and held an estimated 179,294 people in 2005, across both of the woredas that succeeded it. Tembaro remained a woreda of the Kembata Tembaro Zone until 19 August 2023, when the reorganisation of the SNNPR into the Central Ethiopia Region gave it special woreda status and direct reporting to the regional government.
Getting There
Mudula is about 310 km south-west of Addis Ababa. The usual route runs through Butajira, Halaba Kulito and Hosaena, then south-west through Hadero to Mudula. Durame, the Kembata Zone capital, lies roughly 55 km east. Buses reach Hosaena and Durame daily; the final stretch to Mudula is served by minibuses and is slower in the rains. The nearest scheduled airport is Wolayita Sodo, about 100 km south-east.
FAQ
Where is Tembaro Special Woreda?
In the Central Ethiopia Region, west of Kembata Zone on the edge of the Omo valley, about 310 km south-west of Addis Ababa.
What is the capital of Tembaro Special Woreda?
Mudula.
When did Tembaro become a special woreda?
On 19 August 2023, when the SNNPR was reorganised and the Central Ethiopia Region was created. It had been a woreda of the Kembata Tembaro Zone.
How many people live in Tembaro?
105,573 at the 2007 census, with a 2022 projection of 147,876.
What language is spoken in Tembaro?
Tembaro, a Highland East Cushitic language closely related to Kambaata. Amharic is the language of schooling.
What was Tembaro called before?
It formed part of Omo Sheleko woreda, which was split into Hadero Tunto and Tembaro.