# Baardheere (Bardhere, Bardera) > Baardheere (Bardera): farming town on the Jubba in Gedo, old centre of learning and trade, known for onions and palm groves. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/regions/baardheere/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## Where it is Baardheere lies on the [Jubba River](/en/regions/jubba-river/) in the [Gedo](/en/regions/gedo/) region of [Jubaland](/en/states/jubaland/), about 250 km west of Baidoa, at about 2.34°N, 42.28°E and 97 m above sea level ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere); [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q797499)). It stands where roads meet from Elwak and Mandera on the Kenyan border, and from Kismaayo, Baidoa, [Baraawe](/en/regions/barawa/) and Diinsoor ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). It is described as Gedo's second-largest city ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). The name is read as *bar*, palm tree, and *dheere*, tall, after the palms that line the river banks and farms ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). ## History - **Middle Ages:** Baardheere was a farming and trading town on the Jubba within the lands of the Ajuran state, linked by road to the Benadir ports, and a centre of Islamic learning ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). - **1800s:** under [Geledi](/en/history/geledi-sultanate/) rule it was a walled town and the main ivory market of the southern Horn ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). - **1830s and 1840s:** a religious community (jama'a) based in Baardheere began imposing its teaching on the region and took Baraawe in 1840. Sultan Yusuf Mahamud of Geledi led a coalition against it, besieged the town and burned it ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere); [Cassanelli, via Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=dR5yCmUejWEC&q=established+magico-religious+practices.+By+1840,+the+jama'a+of+baardhere&pg=PA200)). - **1860s:** the German explorer Karl Klaus von der Decken was killed near the town after his steamer was wrecked in the rapids ([Wikipedia: Jubba River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubba_River)). - **After 1960:** Baardheere became the seat of Baardheere district ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). ## Farming and trade Baardheere was the first place in Somalia where onions were grown for market, and output grew fast before falling in the 1980s ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). The fertile soil lies in a narrow strip along both banks, where pumps water private farms. Away from the river, families farm in the two rainy seasons, growing sorghum, maize and beans ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). Crops include sorghum, maize, onions, beans, sesame, tobacco, bananas, watermelon, oranges, papayas and mangoes. Herding for meat, milk and butter is also important ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). Mogadishu's market once had a section for Baardheere onions. Since the civil war, much of the produce goes instead to Kenyan markets in Wajir, Garissa, Mombasa and Nairobi ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). ACTED has worked with farmers in the area on farming that can withstand drought ([ACTED](https://www.acted.org/en/in-somalia-acted-encourages-a-resilient-agriculture-against-climate-change/)), and aid agencies have given cash support to displaced families in the town ([ReliefWeb](https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/cash-based-assistance-support-displaced-families-bardera)). ## Schools Baardheere has long been known for the study of Islamic law ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). It has 20 elementary schools and 17 primary and secondary schools. Bardera Polytechnic College opened in July 2008 for vocational training for people aged 16 to 60; it includes the [Juba](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) Valley Agricultural Institute and the Juba Valley Veterinary Institute ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere)). Norway's aid agency evaluated secondary and vocational schooling in Gedo for 2013 to 2015 ([Norad, 2016](https://norad.no/en/toolspublications/publications/2016/secondary-and-vocational-education-evaluation-2013-2015-in-gedo-region-of-somalia/)). ## Climate Baardheere is hot and humid, with a hot arid climate ([Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere); [Deutscher Wetterdienst](http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_632500_kt.pdf)). ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Bardere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardere) - [Wikidata Q797499](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q797499) - [Norad, secondary and vocational education in Gedo, 2016](https://norad.no/en/toolspublications/publications/2016/secondary-and-vocational-education-evaluation-2013-2015-in-gedo-region-of-somalia/) - [ACTED, resilient farming in Somalia](https://www.acted.org/en/in-somalia-acted-encourages-a-resilient-agriculture-against-climate-change/) --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. 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