This paper examines the irrigated canal cultivation areas and their management systems that have emerged since the mid-2010s around the plantation established in 1990s in the Tsamako of southwestern Ethiopia. Irrigated lands for cultivation have been cleared adjacent to the plantation, utilizing water from the plantation’s canals, as well as on the west bank of the Woito River, where irrigation canals draw water directly from the river.

The cultivated lands adjacent to the plantation have established a management system that links the government, plantation, and local people. While this management system appears multilayered and stable, there is a lack of direct control by the EPRDF regime through agricultural development, contrary to observations made in the Ethiopian highlands.

On the west bank of the Woito River, the relationship between the administration and cultivators seems more complex and fluid. Here, a joint resource management system is being formed between the Tsamako and Konso cultivators independently from the administrative authority.

Despite widely publicized abuses against migrant workers in Gulf countries, many women have migrated from Ethiopia to Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to find employment as domestic workers. This study aims to elucidate their motivation and reasons for choosing to migrate to Gulf countries despite being aware of the human rights abuses in these countries. Certainly, the economic situation in Ethiopia is not favorable for young women, and even those who have completed higher education struggle to find employment. Their decision to migrate to Gulf countries appears convincing considering that relatively high incomes are guaranteed in those countries. However, Ethiopian women who have migrated to Gulf counties without sufficient training and knowledge of domestic work have been forced to work in worse conditions than Gulf-based domestic workers from other countries. Although the Ethiopian government is attempting to improve this situation, their efforts have yet to have any effect.

This research reports an archaeological survey of medieval sites in the West Hararghe Zone, Oromia Region, southeastern Ethiopia, where no previous archaeological surveys have been conducted. This area was part of a medieval trade network that used the Indian Ocean trade routes, and there is a tradition that the area was inhabited by a Muslim group called Ḥarla. However, the actual state of the archaeological remains and other evidence remains unclear. Therefore, the authors conducted fieldwork at three archaeological sites in August 2023, and provided an overview of the remains and period.

The Sakate site is a newly identified urban site with a large mosque. Although it is not located along the main medieval trade route from the Gulf of Aden to the interior along the Great Rift Valley, it is a remarkable discovery. While the other two sites have been confirmed by the Oromia Culture and Tourism Bureau, no details were reported. The Hula Dheera site includes a mosque and three graves, whereas the Dhibiiftuu site is a large-scale graveyard, with several hundred graves scattered throughout the area. As these sites have not been fully explored, this report presents the first archaeological record of these sites.