Sidama Coffee or “Sidamo” Coffee? The Implications of the Misnomer
December 7, 2007
Side Goodo
Coffee is the second most widely traded commodity in the world next to petroleum where more than 80 countries cultivate coffee, which is exported as the raw, roasted or soluble product to more than 165 countries worldwide. It is the most important agricultural commodity in the world, and is worth up to $14 billion annually.
Coffee is believed to have been discovered a thousand years ago by a Kaffa goatherd, in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. At present, coffee is one of the most important cash crops in the Sidama region and other parts of the country. In the year 2005, Sidama and Gedeo regions alone produced over 63,562 tons of coffee (Central Statistical Agency, 2005). This is about 1/3 of the total coffee output for the country during the year.
The Sidama people live in the Southern part of Ethiopia with notable geographical features such as lake Awassa in the North and lake Abaya in the South. The population of the Sidama land is about 5 million at present. The capital city of Sidama, Awassa, is 275 kms south of Addis Ababa. Sidama is the fifth largest nation in Ethiopia after Oromo, Amhara, Ogaden and Tigray.
Sidama is well known for its production of garden coffee. Speciality coffee is grown in many villages. Sidama has ideal soil type and climatic conditions-including altitude, rainfall and temperature for the production of Arabica coffee. Coffee is predominantly produced in villages organized in 39 primary coffee cooperatives in Shabadino, Dalle, Alata Wondo, Darra and Bansa districts and many other sub districts. However, almost every household in rural Sidama outside of the extremely hot lowlands of Awassa, Shabadino and Dalle and the very cold highlands of Hula and Harbagona produces coffee. Thus over half of the total population in Sidama directly or indirectly depend on coffee for livelihoods.
Over 60% coffee produced in Sidama region is washed coffee and ready for export while half of the country’s coffee output of about 200,000 tones is consumed domestically. There are over 89 coffee washing stations in Sidama alone. Thus, about 40% of washed coffee destined to the export market comes directly from the Sidama region.
However, the Sidama coffee is sold in retail outlets of most multinational food chains throughout the world with a wrong brand name of “Sidamo” coffee. The food chain multinationals such as Starbucks are the major retailers of this brand. The name “Sidamo” coffee is a misnomer. It derives from a misnomer attached to the Sidama people and other peoples of the South.
The misnomer originated in 1891 when the army of king Minelik deliberately changed Sidama to “Sidamo” as part of the policy of humiliating the newly occupied territories in the Southern part of the country. “Sidamo’’ is a derogatory terminology which implies the nation’s inferiority under occupation compared to the preoccupation position. The term was deliberately coined to deny the Sidama nation its true ethnic identity and pride.
This was reflected in further measures taken by the archaic feudal monarchy which ruled the country following Minelik’s expansion in the late 19th century. The misnomer “Sidamo”, which was initially used to refer to the Sidama people, was later used to refer to a broader geographic area in the South of the country that included Sidama, Gedeo, Guji and Borena Oromos, Burji, Wolayita and other smaller Kushitic and non Kushitic groups extending from Awassa town in Sidama to Moyale town in the Ethio-Kenyan boarder. This area was named collectively as the “Sidamo” province. This was meant both to erase the ethnic identity of the Sidama people, from which the misnomer “Sidamo” originated, and those of other ethnic groups which were assigned a name that never belonged to them. At the same time, specific ethnic groups under this province such as Wolayita were given other derogatory names. Wolayita was referred to as “Wolamo”- a humiliating derogatory term deliberately meant to undermine the people in question. Prior to this, the Oromo people had been given another derogatory term called “Galla”- a name that had nothing to do with the people in question.
While the use of “Wolamo” and “Galla” significantly declined after the 1974 socialist revolution in the country and is almost abandoned at present, the term “Sidamo” continued to be used in Ethiopia until 1993. The term ceased to officially exist only in 1993 when the current EPRDF regime dissolved the then “Sidamo” administrative region that included a smaller geographical area compared to the former “Sidamo” province, and created another pseudo federal region of 45 ethnic groups called SNNPR.
Although the term “Sidamo” does not officially exist in Ethiopia at present, its legacies had far reaching consequences on the Sidama people. The Sidama coffee continues to be traded with a wrong label “Sidamo” coffee until today. The “Sidamo” misnomer was deliberately assigned to the Sidama coffee when the coffee classification and grading systems were developed in Ethiopia in 1952 and 1955. The National Coffee Board of Ethiopia, established in 1957, endorsed the “Sidamo” misnomer as the “true” name of the Sidama coffee. Thus, for more than half a century, the Sidama coffee has been traded globally under a wrong label, “Sidamo” coffee. In a country where human and democratic rights have never been respected, the continued abuse of the identity of a people and its resources could not be of any concern. This is a typical example of deliberate socio-economic and socio-cultural marginalisation.
The irony is that while “Sidamo” province referred to a wider geographical area that included several other ethnic groups, the “Sidamo” coffee exclusively referred to the coffee from the Sidama region. For instance, it does not include coffee from Gedeo area which is specifically denoted as Yirgacheffe coffee. Accordingly, the three speciality coffees from Ethiopia are labelled as “Sidamo”, Yirgacheffe and Harar. The latter is located in the eastern part of the country.
As we stated earlier, officially, the term “Sidamo” does not exist in Ethiopia and does not refer to any people at present. However, the coffee exporters in Ethiopia continue to label the Sidama coffee as “Sidamo” coffee until today. The importers of the Ethiopian coffee and the multinational retailers might not be aware of the history of the “Sidamo” misnomer and hence cannot be directly responsible for the continued abuse of the identity of the Sidama people. However, the exporters in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government which licences these exporters are fully aware of the history but are reluctant to change the abusive name. Therefore, they must be held accountable for their actions. The continued use of this misnomer is the reflection of lack of any respect for the Sidama people and their ethnic identity in the country.
The immediate eradication of this abusive misnomer, however, requires the active participation of all stakeholders including importers and multinational retailers. Importers and multinational retailers must be concerned about this problem because it violates the basic principles of fair trade. Coffee is the first labelled commodity for the Fair Trade and remains the backbone of the system. Fair Trade is not only about fair price, increased income and poverty alleviation. The concept goes beyond a simple economic transaction. According to the International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT), “Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South …".
There could not be a better definition of fair trade than IFAT’s definition. Lack of respect to the marginalized Sidama coffee producers reflected in the continued use of the misnomer “Sidamo” coffee must therefore be the concern of all global citizenry, viz., the coffee exporters, the Ethiopian government, coffee importers, and the multinational retailers of the wrongly labelled “Sidamo” coffee. All concerned stakeholders can show their support for Fair Trade system and to the Sidama people by actively participating in the process of changing the wrong and abusive label of “Sidamo” coffee to the legitimate, rightful and dignified label called Sidama coffee. The process has already started in Ethiopia. Once completed, this achieves two grand objectives: improved income and poverty reduction through further integration into the Fair Trade system on the one hand and empowerment of the Sidama coffee producers on the other.
December 7, 2007
Side Goodo
Coffee is the second most widely traded commodity in the world next to petroleum where more than 80 countries cultivate coffee, which is exported as the raw, roasted or soluble product to more than 165 countries worldwide. It is the most important agricultural commodity in the world, and is worth up to $14 billion annually.
Coffee is believed to have been discovered a thousand years ago by a Kaffa goatherd, in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. At present, coffee is one of the most important cash crops in the Sidama region and other parts of the country. In the year 2005, Sidama and Gedeo regions alone produced over 63,562 tons of coffee (Central Statistical Agency, 2005). This is about 1/3 of the total coffee output for the country during the year.
The Sidama people live in the Southern part of Ethiopia with notable geographical features such as lake Awassa in the North and lake Abaya in the South. The population of the Sidama land is about 5 million at present. The capital city of Sidama, Awassa, is 275 kms south of Addis Ababa. Sidama is the fifth largest nation in Ethiopia after Oromo, Amhara, Ogaden and Tigray.
Sidama is well known for its production of garden coffee. Speciality coffee is grown in many villages. Sidama has ideal soil type and climatic conditions-including altitude, rainfall and temperature for the production of Arabica coffee. Coffee is predominantly produced in villages organized in 39 primary coffee cooperatives in Shabadino, Dalle, Alata Wondo, Darra and Bansa districts and many other sub districts. However, almost every household in rural Sidama outside of the extremely hot lowlands of Awassa, Shabadino and Dalle and the very cold highlands of Hula and Harbagona produces coffee. Thus over half of the total population in Sidama directly or indirectly depend on coffee for livelihoods.
Over 60% coffee produced in Sidama region is washed coffee and ready for export while half of the country’s coffee output of about 200,000 tones is consumed domestically. There are over 89 coffee washing stations in Sidama alone. Thus, about 40% of washed coffee destined to the export market comes directly from the Sidama region.
However, the Sidama coffee is sold in retail outlets of most multinational food chains throughout the world with a wrong brand name of “Sidamo” coffee. The food chain multinationals such as Starbucks are the major retailers of this brand. The name “Sidamo” coffee is a misnomer. It derives from a misnomer attached to the Sidama people and other peoples of the South.
The misnomer originated in 1891 when the army of king Minelik deliberately changed Sidama to “Sidamo” as part of the policy of humiliating the newly occupied territories in the Southern part of the country. “Sidamo’’ is a derogatory terminology which implies the nation’s inferiority under occupation compared to the preoccupation position. The term was deliberately coined to deny the Sidama nation its true ethnic identity and pride.
This was reflected in further measures taken by the archaic feudal monarchy which ruled the country following Minelik’s expansion in the late 19th century. The misnomer “Sidamo”, which was initially used to refer to the Sidama people, was later used to refer to a broader geographic area in the South of the country that included Sidama, Gedeo, Guji and Borena Oromos, Burji, Wolayita and other smaller Kushitic and non Kushitic groups extending from Awassa town in Sidama to Moyale town in the Ethio-Kenyan boarder. This area was named collectively as the “Sidamo” province. This was meant both to erase the ethnic identity of the Sidama people, from which the misnomer “Sidamo” originated, and those of other ethnic groups which were assigned a name that never belonged to them. At the same time, specific ethnic groups under this province such as Wolayita were given other derogatory names. Wolayita was referred to as “Wolamo”- a humiliating derogatory term deliberately meant to undermine the people in question. Prior to this, the Oromo people had been given another derogatory term called “Galla”- a name that had nothing to do with the people in question.
While the use of “Wolamo” and “Galla” significantly declined after the 1974 socialist revolution in the country and is almost abandoned at present, the term “Sidamo” continued to be used in Ethiopia until 1993. The term ceased to officially exist only in 1993 when the current EPRDF regime dissolved the then “Sidamo” administrative region that included a smaller geographical area compared to the former “Sidamo” province, and created another pseudo federal region of 45 ethnic groups called SNNPR.
Although the term “Sidamo” does not officially exist in Ethiopia at present, its legacies had far reaching consequences on the Sidama people. The Sidama coffee continues to be traded with a wrong label “Sidamo” coffee until today. The “Sidamo” misnomer was deliberately assigned to the Sidama coffee when the coffee classification and grading systems were developed in Ethiopia in 1952 and 1955. The National Coffee Board of Ethiopia, established in 1957, endorsed the “Sidamo” misnomer as the “true” name of the Sidama coffee. Thus, for more than half a century, the Sidama coffee has been traded globally under a wrong label, “Sidamo” coffee. In a country where human and democratic rights have never been respected, the continued abuse of the identity of a people and its resources could not be of any concern. This is a typical example of deliberate socio-economic and socio-cultural marginalisation.
The irony is that while “Sidamo” province referred to a wider geographical area that included several other ethnic groups, the “Sidamo” coffee exclusively referred to the coffee from the Sidama region. For instance, it does not include coffee from Gedeo area which is specifically denoted as Yirgacheffe coffee. Accordingly, the three speciality coffees from Ethiopia are labelled as “Sidamo”, Yirgacheffe and Harar. The latter is located in the eastern part of the country.
As we stated earlier, officially, the term “Sidamo” does not exist in Ethiopia and does not refer to any people at present. However, the coffee exporters in Ethiopia continue to label the Sidama coffee as “Sidamo” coffee until today. The importers of the Ethiopian coffee and the multinational retailers might not be aware of the history of the “Sidamo” misnomer and hence cannot be directly responsible for the continued abuse of the identity of the Sidama people. However, the exporters in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government which licences these exporters are fully aware of the history but are reluctant to change the abusive name. Therefore, they must be held accountable for their actions. The continued use of this misnomer is the reflection of lack of any respect for the Sidama people and their ethnic identity in the country.
The immediate eradication of this abusive misnomer, however, requires the active participation of all stakeholders including importers and multinational retailers. Importers and multinational retailers must be concerned about this problem because it violates the basic principles of fair trade. Coffee is the first labelled commodity for the Fair Trade and remains the backbone of the system. Fair Trade is not only about fair price, increased income and poverty alleviation. The concept goes beyond a simple economic transaction. According to the International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT), “Fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South …".
There could not be a better definition of fair trade than IFAT’s definition. Lack of respect to the marginalized Sidama coffee producers reflected in the continued use of the misnomer “Sidamo” coffee must therefore be the concern of all global citizenry, viz., the coffee exporters, the Ethiopian government, coffee importers, and the multinational retailers of the wrongly labelled “Sidamo” coffee. All concerned stakeholders can show their support for Fair Trade system and to the Sidama people by actively participating in the process of changing the wrong and abusive label of “Sidamo” coffee to the legitimate, rightful and dignified label called Sidama coffee. The process has already started in Ethiopia. Once completed, this achieves two grand objectives: improved income and poverty reduction through further integration into the Fair Trade system on the one hand and empowerment of the Sidama coffee producers on the other.
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