Sawla

Sawla (also known as Felege Neway) is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Gamo Gofa Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an altitude of 1395 meters above sea level. It is the larger of two towns in Gofa Zuria woreda.

Postal service in this town is provided by a main branch; electricity and telephone service are also available.^[1]

History

Records at the Nordic Africa Institute website provide details of the primary and secondary school in Sawla in 1968. A study to build a road to connect Sawla with Ameya in Ela woreda was conducted in 1996.^[2]

On 1 July 2008, the Ethiopian House of Peoples' Representatives voted to ratify a US$ 9 million loan agreement signed with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa for the implementation of a rural electrification project linking Sawla and Key Afer in Hamer Bena woreda. The total cost of this project would total US$ 43.89 million, of which the OPEC Fund for International Development has promised US$ 20 million, while the Ethiopian government will provide US$ 14 million.^[3]

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Sawla has an estimated total population of 28,561 of whom 14,198 are men and 14,363 are women.^[4] The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 15,764 of whom 7,861 were men and 7,903 were women.

Climate

Owing to its location near the equator, Sawla features a Tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). However, it is atypical for its classification, owing to its latitude and altitude. Despite the Aw classification, which indicates a dry winter and a wet summer, Sawla has two dry seasons, one occuring in winter, and another, less pronounced dry season in the summer. Similarly, there are two rainy seasons, the strongest being in the spring and a weaker one in autumn. This occurs due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone passing over the equatorial regions in the spring and fall, which is typical of the region. Although still meeting Köppen's 18 °C (64 °F) tropical threshold, temperatures are significantly cooler due to Sawla's altitude, thus giving the location characteristics closer to a highland climate.

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