History of Camiel Van Billoen’s Commercial Agricultural Farms in Tena Woreda (Arussi) 1936-1974
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Date
2023-11-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study aimed to reconstruct the “History of Camiel Van Billoen’s Commercial
Agricultural Farms in Tena Woreda (Arussi) 1936-1974”. Tena Woreda is located in Arsi
Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study particularly focused on Kereyu and Sole
Haji Shale Balabats. The Commercial Agricultural Farms in Sole Haji Shale Balabat were
undertaken by Elias Pappasinos, Greece citizen, from 1924 to 1936 before it was sold to
Camiel Van Billoen in 1936. Thus, the farms in Kereyu and Sole Haji Shale Balabats were
undertaken by Camiel Van Billoen from 1936 to 1974. Elias Pappasinos, a Greece, who
came to Ticho town in the 1917/18 while Camiel Van Billoen was a Belgian who came to
Ticho town in 1922/23 respectively. He eventually got acquainted with the officials and
important persons that would assist him to start his farms in Tena district. His farms were
known as Hassan Osman Coffee Plantation Company in Belgium. The thesis discusses the
history of the farms including the process of land acquisition, the infrastructure the
entrepreneurs built as a prelude to the beginning of the farms and particularly irrigation
facilities and the organization of production and distribution in the farms as well as their
economic import. In reconstructing the history of Camiel Van Billoen’s farms, relevant
historical sources were collected, compiled, collated, evaluated and utilized in accordance
with their validity. Accordingly, oral sources (knowledgeable oral informants, eye-witnesses’
accounts), librarian of the Federal government of Belgium, Consul of Belgium Embassy at
Addis Ababa, two written documents archived at Tena district Culture and Tourism Office,
and many archived books, literature and manuscripts deposited at the Federal library of
Belgium were utilized. The commercial farms established by Camiel Van Billoen transformed
the environmental landscape of parts of the district from dense forests lands into capital-
intensive commercial agricultural farm lands. Camiel Van Billoen highly succeeded in
developing, managing and operating the farms besides producing coffee and exporting their
products to French and Belgium markets. The thesis argues that commercial farms gave
several benefits to the local communities, the province and the country during its life times
and then after up to the present time. Among some of the major benefits, the workers
enjoyment of built-up residential houses and other basic necessities freely, construction of
church and a modern school for local communities, the construction road of about 121 km
joining Sire and Ticho towns, 12 km road joining Ticho and Kella towns, and about 29 km
road connecting Kella with Gobesa towns, motivation of local investors such as Merid Biru
and Eshetu Wolde Tsedik to commercialize traditional agricultural activities in Hetosa
district, creation of employment opportunities for hundreds of jobless poor, transferring
agricultural and industrial technologies to the farm sites, introduction of Grain Mill and food
oil refinery simplified lifestyles of nearby residents, the flowing of foreign currency
amounting to 1, 000, 000 (1 million pounds) in the late 1930s with annually increasing
amounts from the 1940s to the 1974 to the country and several others were worth
mentionable.
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History Of Camiel Van Billoen’s Commercial, Agricultural Farms In Arussi Tena Woreda