The tabia is located astride a main water divide and stretches down towards May Zegzeg river at the south and upper Tsaliet River at the north. Three highest places are Meri’a Ziban in the west, Imba Ra’isot in the centre and the escarpment to Arebay at the north. The lowest places are the confluence of May Zegzeg and May Be’ati Rivers in the south and in the north May Leiba River near Iyesus church.
Geology
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:
** deep, dark cracking clays, temporarily waterlogged during the wet season
* Inclusions
** Rock outcrops and very shallow soils
** Rock outcrops and very shallow soils on limestone
** Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season
** Shallow stony dark loams on calcaric material
** Brown loamy soils on basalt with good natural fertility
Gently rolling Antalo Limestone plateau, holding cliffs and valley bottoms on limestone
* Associated soil types
** shallow stony soils with a dark surface horizon overlying calcaric material
** moderately deep dark stony clays with good natural fertility
** deep, dark cracking clays on calcaric material
* Inclusions
** Rock outcrops and very shallow soils
** Shallow very stony loamy soil on limestone
** Deep dark cracking clays with very good natural fertility, waterlogged during the wet season
** Brown to dark sands and silt loams on alluvium
Common soil types in Hech'i are Vertisol, Vertic Cambisol, Cumulic Regosol, Calcaric Regosol and Phaeozem. and, northeast of May Leiba Reservoir, “red-black” Skeletic Cambisol–Pellic Vertisol catenas on basalt and Calcaric Regosol–Colluvic Calcaric Cambisol–Calcaric Vertisol catenas on limestone.
Climate and hydrology
Climate and meteorology
The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Halah is 19.1 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 10.7 °C and maximum of 27.2 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.
Rivers
The Giba River as well as Tsaliet River are the most important rivers in the surroundings of the tabia. They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape. The drainage network of the tabia is organised as follows:
** May Zegzeg River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
*** May Sho'ate River, at border of tabias Ayninbirkekin and Mika'el Abiy
Weri'i River
* May Leiba, in tabia Ayninbirkekin, which becomes Tinsehe R. in Selam and Mahbere Sillasie, and Tsaliet River, downstream from the Dabba Selama monastery
Whereas they are dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of flash floods. Especially at the begin of the rainy season they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates.
Springs
As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:
In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season. Overall they suffer from siltation. Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water. Main reservoirs are:
May Leiba reservoir, constructed in 1998
Smaller reservoirs, such as the one in the village of Addi Qoylo
Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns
Vegetation and exclosures
The tabia holds several exclosures, areas that are set aside for regreening. Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. Besides effects on biodiversity, water infiltration, protection from flooding, sediment deposition, carbon sequestration, people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products. The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”. In this tabia, some exclosures are managed by the EthioTrees project. They have as an additional benefit that the villagers receive carbon credits for the sequestered CO2, as part of a carbon offset programme. The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities; it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond, or conservation in the exclosures. The following exclosures are managed by the Ethiotrees project in the tabia:
Gemgema, near the village of Tsigaba
May Be'ati, near the homonymous village
Settlements
The tabia centre Halah holds a few administrative offices, a primary school, and some small shops. The largest settlement, actually a small town, is Ala'isa, where a market is organized on Thursdays. There is also a health post and several small restaurants and shops. There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:
Agriculture and livelihood
The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by farmlands which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year. Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system. The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.
History and culture
History
The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.
Religion and churches
Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:
''Inda Siwa'', the local beer houses
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses, often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the tabia are
Tsadkan Kiros at Addi Qolqwal
Letay Assefa at Halah
Kiros Abadi at Ala'isa
Birhan Haddush at Ala'isa
Legends and myths
The lapiez or surface karst at Inda Meru’e near Hechi is commonly interpreted as a petrified group of people on their way back from a marriage party and who had omitted to greet the church. There is also, near Hech’i a huge cubic rock, named Ilias’ rock which would have been rolled there for sake of church building.
Roads and communication
The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs from east to west across the tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, rural access roads link Ala’isa on the main asphalt road to Arebay, Addi Qolqwal to Haddinnet and Halah to Mizane Birhan and Debre Nazret. Minibuses ply on the latter road.
Schools
Almost all children of the tabia are schooled, though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades. Schools in the tabia include Ra'isot school.
Tourism
Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle make the tabia fit for tourism. As compared to many other mountain areas in Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead.
Touristic attractions
Viewpoints on Imba Ra'isot, Guyeha Ridge and Meri'a Ziban
Geotouristic sites
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism". Geosites in the tabia include:
Birdwatching
can be done particularly in exclosures and forests. The following bird-watching sites have been inventoried in the tabia and mapped. :
