Metehara is a town in central Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa is one of the 12 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. Misraq Shewa is located in the middle of Oromia, connecting the western regions to the eastern ones...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, it has a latitude and longitude of 08°54′N 39°55′E with an elevation of 947 meters above sea level.

Access to Metehara includes a station on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway

Ethio-Djibouti Railways

The Ethio-Djibouti Railways, also Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enterprise, is the successor of the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia and jointly owned by the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti. It was formed after Djibouti gained independence in 1977 and received the French shares of the Imperial...

. There is a Tuesday livestock market. Notable local landmarks include Metehara Mikael Bet church, Mount Fentale

Mount Fentale

Fentale is a stratovolcano located in the Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is the highest point of Fentale woreda.Philip Briggs describes Mount Fentale being crowned by a 350 meter deep crater...

 to the north and Lake Basaka

Lake Basaka

Lake Basaka is a lake in the Oromia Region of south-central Ethiopia. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at an elevation of 1,900 meters....

 to the south of the town.

History

Visitors to the area in the first decades of the 20th century frequently described the area a volcanic no-man's land between the Afar

Afar people

The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...

, Karayu Oromo and Amhara

Amhara people

Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...

 settlers. On the eve of the Italian invasion

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

, a German by the name of Neitzel had been granted a concession to cultivate cotton and coffee

Coffee production in Ethiopia

The coffee production in Ethiopia is critical to the Ethiopian economy with about 25% of the population depending directly or indirectly on coffee for its livelihood...

. Despite that, few people lived in the area until the arrival of the Dutch corporation Handelsvereeningung Amsterdam (HVA), which established a factory to process sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 at Metehara, after it had been expelled from Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 in 1954.

In 1970, the Karayu staged an armed demonstration in Metehara which destroyed fences and buildings at the HVA plantation. The Derg

Derg

The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...

 announced 3 February 1975 that the sugar plantation, including the Dutch investments, would be fully nationalized.

During the 2002 drought, a Karayu leader was killed in Metehara, which increased tensions between the Karayu and Afar people

Afar people

The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...

s. As a result the Afar, who traded at the Tuesday market, did not go to the market during that drought.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, Metehara has an estimated total population of 21,348 of whom 10,763 were men and 10,585 were women. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 11,934 of whom 5,837 were males and 6,097 were females. It is the largest town in Fentale

Fentale

Fentale is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Fentale is bordered on the southeast by the Arsi Zone, on the southwest by Boset, on the northwest by the Amhara Region, and on the northeast by the Afar Region...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.