Buno Bedele Zone (Afaan Oromoo: Godina Buunoo Beddellee) is a zone of western Oromia, administered from Bedele. It was created in March 2016 out of the eastern woredas of Ilu Aba Bora, the zone this site lists as Illubabor, and covers 5,856.5 square kilometres. Its nine rural woredas and one town totalled about 743,500 people on the 2022 projection.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Region | Oromia |
| Administrative centre | Bedele |
| Created | March 2016, from Ilu Aba Bora Zone |
| Area | 5,856.50 km2 |
| Population (2022 projection) | about 743,500 |
| Main language | Afaan Oromoo |
Woredas (Districts)
The zone has nine rural woredas and the Bedele town administration. Because the zone did not exist at the 2007 census, the figures below are the census and projection counts for each district under its former Ilu Aba Bora reporting.
| Woreda | 2007 census | 2022 projection |
|---|---|---|
| Bedele Town | 19,517 | 40,500 |
| Bedele Zuria | n/a | n/a |
| Borecha | 73,708 | 104,883 |
| Chewaka | 56,106 | 79,127 |
| Chora | 100,506 | 145,736 |
| Dabo Hana | 41,285 | 60,541 |
| Dega | 39,466 | 57,222 |
| Didessa (Dedesa) | 84,929 | 122,552 |
| Gechi | 70,478 | 102,212 |
| Mako | 22,001 | 30,762 |
No separate census figure is published for Bedele Zuria, the rural district ringing the zone capital.
Major Towns
| Town | Woreda | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Bedele | Bedele Town | 40,500 (2022 proj.) |
| Chora | Chora | n/a |
| Gechi | Gechi | n/a |
| Dabo Hana | Dabo Hana | n/a |
| Chewaka | Chewaka | n/a |
Bedele is the only town of real size. The rest are woreda seats with weekly markets, most of them clustered along the Nekemte–Bedele–Jimma road.
Geography
Buno Bedele lies on the western edge of the Ethiopian highlands, between about 1,000 and 2,500 metres. Roughly 1,127 square kilometres of the zone is forest, part of the moist evergreen belt that runs from Jimma through Illubabor. The Didessa River, a major tributary of the Blue Nile, drains the north of the zone and its broad valley separates the Bedele plateau from the Welega highlands.
The zone borders Illubabor Zone to the west, East Welega and West Welega to the north, and Jimma Zone to the east and south.
Demographics
Afaan Oromoo is the first language of the great majority of residents, with Amharic used in the towns and in trade. The 2007 census recorded the area as part of Ilu Aba Bora, where Afaan Oromoo speakers were 90.68 per cent of the population and Amharic speakers 7.08 per cent. Muslims, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Protestants all have sizeable followings. Chewaka woreda was settled from the 2000s onward under a government resettlement programme, and its population mixes people from several highland zones. All post-2007 figures are projections rather than counts.
Economy & Local Life
Coffee is the cash crop. The zone gives its name to Buno coffee, a forest and semi-forest arabica grown across Chora, Gechi, Dabo Hana and Borecha and washed at stations along the Bedele road. Maize, sorghum, teff and haricot beans are the main food crops, and honey from the forest woredas moves through Bedele market. Farmers also grow enset and chat on a small scale.
Bedele Brewery, opened in 1993 and now part of Heineken’s Ethiopian operations, is the largest industrial employer in the zone and draws barley from the surrounding highlands. The Didessa valley carries irrigated sugar-cane development, and gold is worked artisanally along some tributaries.
Getting There
Bedele sits on the asphalt road between Jimma and Nekemte, about 130 kilometres north of Jimma and 105 kilometres south of Nekemte. From Addis Ababa the shorter route runs west through Jimma, roughly 480 kilometres in all; the northern route runs through Ambo and Nekemte. Buses run daily on both. There is no airport in the zone; the nearest scheduled flights land at Jimma. Parts of western Oromia have seen fighting between federal forces and the Oromo Liberation Army since 2018, and road conditions on rural routes can change at short notice.
FAQ
Where is Buno Bedele Zone?
Buno Bedele is in western Oromia, between Jimma and Nekemte, about 480 kilometres from Addis Ababa by the Jimma road.
What is the capital of Buno Bedele Zone?
Bedele, a town of about 40,500 people on the 2022 projection.
When was Buno Bedele Zone created?
In March 2016, from nine districts and one town taken out of Ilu Aba Bora Zone.
How many woredas are in Buno Bedele Zone?
Nine rural woredas plus the Bedele town administration.
What is Buno coffee?
Buno is the forest and semi-forest arabica grown in and around Buno Bedele. It is one of Ethiopia’s named regional coffee origins, alongside Limu and Illubabor.
What language is spoken in Buno Bedele?
Afaan Oromoo, with Amharic widely used in towns and trade.