DOI: 10.5061/dryad.ghx3ffbpp
title: Data from: Ethnobotany of stinging nettle (Urtica simensis Hochst. ex. A. Rich.) in the Oromia region of central and southeastern highlands of Ethiopia

description: The data was generated to document ethnobotanical uses of U. simensis and
 the associated traditional knowledge of the indigenous people and to
 identify the factors limiting harvesting and utilization of stinging
 nettle in North Shewa (R4), Bale and Arsi zones of the Oromia region,
 central and southeastern highlands of Ethiopia. Thirteen districts were
 purposively selected from the three zones and a total of 130 respondents
 were sampled, with consideration of gender, age, occupation, and wealth
 status. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, tour-guided
 field observations, and focus group discussions.
description: <strong>Descriptions of the study area and sampling
 method</strong> The Oromia region with 353,690
 square kilometers of land area (32% of the country), represents the
 largest regional State of the 11 regions found in Ethiopia.
 Administratively, the Oromia region is divided into 17 zones, 245 Weredas,
 and 36 town administrations with 6500 kebele subdivisions. This study was
 conducted in North Shewa (R4), Bale, and Arsi zones of the Oromia region,
 central and southeastern highlands of Ethiopia (Figure 1). North Shewa
 (R4) zone is located at 9°75’ to 11°92’N and 41°84’ to 44°93’E with
 altitude ranging from 1551-3010 m.a.s.l in the central part of Ethiopia.
 Arsi zone is located between 7°72’ to 10°32’N and 42°62’ to 46°28’E with
 altitude ranging 2000 to 3207 m.a.s.l in the southeastern part of
 Ethiopia. Bale zone located is between 5°56’ to 9°68’ N and 42°89’ to
 48°51’E with altitude ranging from 2,492 to 3207 m.a.s.l in the
 southeastern part of Ethiopia. A reconnaissance survey
 was conducted in April 2019 to produce a specific description of the study
 sites and gain an overview of the availability, distribution, and
 consumption practice of stinging nettle. In the study, six districts from
 the North Shewa (R4) zone (Wara Jarso, Degem, Gerar Jarso, Debre libanos,
 Yaya Gulele, and Jida), four districts from the Arsi zone (Tiyo, Sire,
 Degeluna Tijo, and Inkolo Wabe districts) and three districts from Bale
 zone (Dinsho, Sinana, and Goba districts were selected considering the
 long history use and availability of stinging nettle.
 After selecting the study sites, a discussion was made with the
 respective responsible government officials of the districts
 administrators and agricultural development agents. The discussion was
 conducted after a clear explanation of the objectives, planned activities,
 and duration of the research. Kebeles (villages) were then selected that
 met the selection criteria. Tour-guided field observation was made jointly
 with agricultural development agents to select Kebeles and to check the
 availability of stinging nettle plants within the study area. The
 information generated through this activity supported purposively
 selecting five households and two sample Kebeles from the respective
 districts of each zones. Formal letters were written to selected rural
 kebeles by the responsible district offices. It was essential to maintain
 contact with the indigenous people while studies were conducted.
 Respondents were stratified by age, gender, wealth status, and
 occupation of the households. The household wealth index is constructed
 based on “the number and kinds of consumer goods they own, ranging from a
 television to a bicycle or car, in addition to housing characteristics
 such as a source of drinking water, toilet facilities, and flooring
 materials”. Accordingly, each participating household was scored for
 wealth status as either low income or middle income to high income. The
 104 general informants were identified by taking three household informant
 from each stratified randomly identified household and one key informant
 from each kebele were purposively selected making a total of 130
 informants. Thus, out of the 130 informants, 104 (4 informants × 2 Kebeles
 × 13 districts) were general informants selected randomly by a lottery
 method from the stratified households to give equal chances. The other 26
 informants (from 13 districts × 2 Kebeles × 1 key informant) were key
 informants selected purposively based on the recommendations from local
 authorities, confirmed to be knowledgeable about stinging nettle, and
 volunteered to participate in the study. This procedure satisfied local
 customs and official ethical guidelines on carrying out the study on
 traditional knowledge and uses of stinging nettle (<em>U.
 simensis</em>) in the central and southeastern highlands of
 Ethiopia. Government bodies and indigenous community members have fully
 consented and facilitated the work. <strong>Data
 collection</strong> The ethnobotanical data on
 traditional knowledge and uses of stinging nettle were collected using a
 semi-structured interview, tour-guided field observation, and focus group
 discussions. The semi-structured interviews comprised of a checklist of
 open-ended questions were prepared in English and translated to the local
 languages Amharic and Afaan Oromo by a proficient local translator. Each
 interviewee was asked the same questions independently without contacts or
 sharing information with the other informants or with the target
 population.  Tour-guided field observation with the
 agricultural development agents (Figure 3) and a total of 26 focus group
 discussions (FGDs), one from each kebeles, were conducted for
 crosschecking and triangulating the ethnobotanical data collected through
 the semi-structured interviews. Accordingly, the FGDs were undertaken in
 groups of four to five key informants, farmers, Kebele administrator, and
 agricultural development agents, mediated by the researcher in each of the
 selected Kebeles.