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”. 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. The history of the "tabia" is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien. Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses ("Inda Siwa"), often in unique settings, where people socialise. Well known in the "tabia" are  The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs across the "tabia". There are regular bus services to these towns. 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. The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism". Geosites in the "tabia" include:  Trekking routes have been established in this "tabia". The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.