| Official Name: | Melfa |
| Image Habtom Desta Abayneh: | 14. Chini pond 1.jpg |
| Image Caption: | The fertile lands of Melfa with Chini pond |
| Pushpin Map: | Ethiopia |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Ethiopia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Ethiopia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tigray |
| Subdivision Type2: | Zone |
| Subdivision Name2: | Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) |
| Subdivision Type3: | Woreda |
| Subdivision Name3: | Dogu'a Tembien |
| Area Total Km2: | 20.5 |
| Timezone: | EAT |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
| Coordinates: | 13.6404°N 39.1322°W |
| Elevation M: | 2500 |
Melfa is a tabiya or municipality in the Dogu'a Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia and ancient capital of Tembien. The tabia centre is Melfa village itself, located approximately 3 km to the west of the woreda town Hagere Selam.
The tabia stretches down from the ridge at 2700 m a.s.l. towards Zelekwa/Ruba Dirho River (2150 m a.s.l.).
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]
The main geomorphic unit is the Hagere Selam Highlands. Corresponding soil types are:[2]
See also: Soil in Dogu'a Tembien.
As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The following are the springs in the tabia:[3]
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.[4] Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water. In Melfa there is:
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.[6]
Melfa, and more precisely the May Sa'iri school is one of the first places in Ethiopia where Ecosan toilets were built.
The tabia centre of Melfa holds a few administrative offices and some small shops. The main other populated places in the tabia are:[7]
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Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. Most important church in the tabia is Melfa Maryam.
The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien. As of the 19th Century, both oral traditions and written documents mention that the rulers of Tembien were based in Melfa.[8] Best known is Emperor Yohannes IV, born in Melfa, and whose forefathers had managed to gain power through marriage with all the surrounding ruling families. Kassa (the future emperor Yohannes) controlled the Tembien highlands and later the whole of Tigray; ultimately he crowned himself king of kings of Ethiopia in 1872.[9] However, Emperor Yohannes IV did not establish his capital in Melfa (due to relative inaccessibility), but in Mekelle and Adwa - these towns were well connected to the Red Sea and to inner Ethiopia. Yet, Yohannes kept strong links with Tembien, as indicated by the establishment of a (locally paved) horse-track between Melfa and Mekelle.In 1951, Gebru Gebrehiwot, the new governor, decided to create a new capital of Tembien. First the location of Melfa was chosen. As the inhabitants of Melfa rejected the idea, Hagere Selam was created as a new town.[8] In the 1980s, the area became again a temporary capital in war-faring Ethiopia: the TPLF party established its HQ in a cave in nearby Mahbere Sillasie, whereas the EPDM used a cave in Melfa.
A rural access road links Melfa to the main asphalt road in Hagere Selam.
Almost all children of the tabia are schooled,[10] 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 May Sa'iri school.
Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle makes the tabia fit for tourism.[11]
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invites for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[12] Geosites in the tabia include:
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Trekking routes have been established in this tabia.[13] The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.[14]
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, which are a good place for resting and chatting with the local people. Most renown in the tabia are[3]
The facilities are very basic.[15] One may be invited to spend the night in a rural homestead or ask permission to pitch a tent. Hotels are available in Hagere Selam and Mekelle.
For more details on environment, agriculture, rural sociology, hydrology, ecology, culture, etc., see the overall page on the Dogu'a Tembien district.