They live on the islands of Lake Zway, south of Addis Ababa, and engage mainly in fishing.

When the Oromo first saw the Zay on their boats they did not know what they were doing and knew only the stirring motion they made with their paddles.

[3] The Zay people cultivate maize, sorghum, finger millet, teff, pepper and barley, and raise cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and chicken.

[3] Common health issues include malaria, schistosomiasis, diarrhoea and respiratory diseases.

[3] The Zay people generally have limited access to modern health care and primarily rely on medicinal plants, although (as elsewhere in the country) environmental and cultural factors threaten both medicinal plants and traditional medical knowledge.