Ayninbirkekin
Ayninbirkekin is a "tabia" or municipality in the Dogu'a Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Literal meaning of Ayninbirkekin in Tigrinya is "We will not bend". The "tabia" centre is in Halah village, located approximately 8 km to the east of the "woreda" town Hagere Selam. Main town is Ala'isa, situated on the ridge overseeing the Giba valley. Geography. The "tabia" is located astride a main water divide (that is followed by the main road) and stretches down towards May Zegzeg river at the south and upper Tsaliet River at the north. Three highest places (at around  2600 m a.s.l.) are Meri’a Ziban in the west, Imba Ra’isot in the centre and the escarpment to Arebay at the north. The lowest places are the confluence of May Zegzeg and May Be’ati Rivers (1970 m a.s.l.) in the south and in the north May Leiba River near Iyesus church (2240 m a.s.l.). Geology. From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present: Geomorphology and soils. The main geomorphic units, with corresponding soil types are: Common soil types in Hech'i are Vertisol, Vertic Cambisol, Cumulic Regosol, Calcaric Regosol and Phaeozem. and, northeast of May Leiba  Reservoir, “red-black” Skeletic Cambisol–Pellic Vertisol catenas on basalt and Calcaric Regosol–Colluvic Calcaric Cambisol–Calcaric Vertisol catenas on limestone. Climate and hydrology. Climate and meteorology. The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Halah is 19.1 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 10.7 °C and maximum of 27.2 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts. Rivers. The Giba River as well as Tsaliet River (a tributary to Weri'i River) are  the most important rivers in the surroundings of the "tabia". They flow towards Tekezze River and further on to the Nile. These rivers have incised deep gorges which characterise the landscape. The drainage network of the "tabia" is organised as follows: Whereas they are (nearly) dry during most of the year, during the main rainy season, these rivers carry high runoff discharges, sometimes in the form of flash floods. Especially at the begin of the rainy season they are brown-coloured, evidencing high soil erosion rates. Springs. As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost  importance for the local people. The main springs in the "tabia" are: Water harvesting. 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. Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water. Main reservoirs are: Vegetation and exclosures. The "tabia" holds several exclosures, areas that are set aside for regreening. Wood harvesting and livestock range are not allowed there. Besides effects on biodiversity, water infiltration, protection  from flooding, sediment deposition, carbon sequestration, people commonly have economic benefits from these exclosures through grass harvesting, beekeeping and other non-timber forest products. The local inhabitants also consider it as “land set aside for future generations”. In this "tabia", some exclosures are managed by the EthioTrees project. They have as an additional benefit that the villagers receive carbon credits for the sequestered CO, as part of a carbon offset programme. The revenues are then reinvested in the villages, according to the priorities of the communities; it may be for an additional class in the village school, a water pond , or conservation in the exclosures. The following exclosures are managed by the Ethiotrees project in the "tabia": Settlements. The "tabia" centre Halah holds a few administrative offices, a primary school, and some small shops. The largest settlement, actually a small town, is Ala'isa, where a market is organized on Thursdays. There is also a health post and several small restaurants and shops. There are a few more primary schools across the "tabia". The main other populated places are: Agriculture and livelihood. 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. The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall. History and culture. History. The history of the "tabia" is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien. One particularity is that, during warfare, a major access to Dogu'a Tembien is through the slopes east of Ala'isa town. The Derg army was defeated here by TPLF during a major battle of the 1980s civil war. Religion and churches. Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches  are located in the "tabia": Section::::"Inda Siwa", the local beer houses. In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses ("Inda Siwa"), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the "tabia" are Legends and myths. The lapiez or surface karst at Inda Meru’e near Hechi is commonly interpreted as a petrified group of people on their way back from a marriage party and who had omitted to greet the church. There is also, near Hech’i a huge cubic rock, named Ilias’ rock which would have been rolled there for sake of church building. Roads and communication. The  main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs from east to west across the "tabia". There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, rural access roads link Ala’isa on the main asphalt road to Arebay, Addi Qolqwal to Haddinnet and Halah to Mizane Birhan and Debre Nazret. Minibuses ply on the latter road. Schools. Almost all children of the "tabia" are schooled, 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 Ra'isot school. Tourism. Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle  make the "tabia" fit for tourism. As compared to many other mountain areas in Ethiopia the villages are quite accessible, and during walks visitors may be invited for coffee, lunch or even for an overnight stay in a rural homestead. Geotouristic sites. The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism". Geosites in the "tabia" include: Birdwatching. Birdwatching (for the species, see the main Dogu'a Tembien page) can be done particularly in exclosures and forests. The following bird-watching sites have been inventoried in the "tabia" and mapped. : Trekking routes. Trekking  routes have been established in this "tabia". The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.