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Dire Wereda
Dire is one of the Weredas in the Borana Zone of the Regional State of Oromia. It is located
670 km south of Addis Ababa. It is the largest Wereda in the zone with an area of 12,722
km 2 . There are 31 pastoral associations in the Wereda. Most of these associations were
organized during the Derg time. Recently, there had been some restructuring done by the
Cooperative Promotion Office of oromia, with technical support by VOCA, on the size and
composition of the associations with the aim of increasing their efficiency to provide
services to the residents of the Wereda. Some of the PAs in the Wereda border Kenya and
people often cross the border to access grazing and other social services.
An arid and semi arid environment characterizes the agro ecology of the Wereda. It has a
bimodal rainfall pattern in which the main rainfall is received in April-June and the other in
September-November. The Wereda is endowed with savanna type vegetation suitable mainly
for cattle. In the more arid part there are highly nutritious browse species to support camels
and goats.
The human population of the Wereda is 112,262 (56,351 male and 55,921 female) with a
household number of 22,452. Only 2% of the population lives in urban areas. The
population density (about 9 persons / km 2 ) is too high for arid and semiarid systems. The
Borana is the major ethnic group that occupies the Wereda. There are pockets of Gabra and
Somali ethnic groups, which are spread thinly over the most arid part of the Wereda. In
most cases people’s livelihood is a reflection of the agro ecology in which they live, and the
natural and man-made resources available at their disposal. Accordingly, pastoralism and
agro pastoralism are the dominant forms of production systems people depend for their
livings in the Wereda. Opportunistic cultivation is mainly practiced around towns and in
valley bottoms where the soil moisture content stays high for longer time.
Dire is the center of the Borana pastoral production system where most of the tulla wells,
which are the focal points of the Borana system, are located. The Gumi Gayo assembly,
which is the largest gatherings of the Borana held every eight years, is hosted in a place called
Gayo in Dire Wereda. Dire Wereda has ritual and production importance to all Borana. Dire
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