Abstract
Contemporary understandings of landscapes are focusing on their attributes for sustainable human-environment interactions. This article explores the socio-cultural, aesthetic, and therapeutic attributes of Jefore as a peculiar socio-ecological landscape of Gurage countryside. As research design and tools of data collection, ethnographic research design and ethnographic data collection tools such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and a transect walk were used to generate data from three districts of West Gurageland. Scoring from diverse data sources, Jefore is the long-existing local landscape tradition. It has diverse attributes that embeds aspects of Gurage's life such as identity, social interactions, socio-cultural and economic productions, livelihoods, and well-being. For socio-cultural attributes, it remains the core of cultural production and reproduction, social interactions, social alliances, identity as well as heritages for the group. Aesthetic and therapeutic attributes magnify the wider well-being associations of the landscapes for its embodiment effects. Largely, maintaining Jefore landscape tradition ensuring sustainable socio-ecological landscape values and attributes that serve long generations. Hence, diverse stakeholders need to consider indigeneity of Jefore landscape and its diverse attributes in the midst of their decisions and interventions.
Published Version
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