kafa

Kafa, also spelled Keffa, is a historic region in southwestern Ethiopia. It is the homeland of the Kafa people and is widely cited as one of the places where Coffea arabica, the plant that produces coffee, is native. The name is used for the former Kaffa Province as well as for the Kaffa Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region, and for the Kafa language spoken there.

Geography and biodiversity: The Kafa area comprises forested highlands along the southwest edge of the Ethiopian plateau. Its montane forests are part of the Ethiopian montane forests biodiversity hotspot and host many endemic plant and animal species. The landscape supports subsistence farming and traditional forest coffee production.

History: The Kingdom of Kaffa was a distinct polity from roughly the 14th or 15th century until its conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in 1897 under Emperor Menelik II. The region retained a strong sense of local governance and cultural identity within the broader Ethiopian state.

People and language: The Kafa people form one of the regional communities of southwest Ethiopia. They speak Kafa, an Omotic language in the Afroasiatic family, and maintain traditional practices related to farming, social organization, and coffee ceremonies.

Economy and heritage: Coffee is central to the region’s identity and economy, with both cultivated coffee and wild coffee populations that attract research and conservation attention. The area has received recognition as a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve, highlighting efforts to conserve biodiversity while supporting sustainable livelihoods, ecotourism, and agricultural development.