Contoured Stool

Origin: Oromo peoples, Ethiopia
Composition: wood, stain

This type of stool is known as Berchumer, and is from the Welega region of Ethiopia, where the Oromo people live. They have been very hard to export in recent years in light of government restrictions on nearly everything.

The Oromo people make up a significant portion of the population occupying the Horn of Africa. In the Ethiopian Empire alone, Oromo constitute about 30 million of the 55 million inhabitants of the Ethiopian Empire. In fact, Oromo is one of the most numerous nations in Africa which enjoys a homogeneous culture and shares a common language, history and descent, and once shared common political, religious and legal institutions.

During their long history, the Oromo developed their own cultural, social and political system known as the Gadaa system. It is a uniquely democratic political and social institution that governed the life of every individual in the society from birth to death (Ref: "Oromia Online").