Contribution of Microenterprises to Sustainable Livelihoods: The Case of Woliso Town, South West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Wakjira, Wogari (2010) Contribution of Microenterprises to Sustainable Livelihoods: The Case of Woliso Town, South West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Masters thesis, University of Zambia.

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Abstract

This study is undertaken to examine the contribution of microenterprises to the sustainable livelihoods of the households of their operators in Woliso town. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework has been employed to understand the dynamics of the livelihoods of the households. Industry, trade and service are the major sectors in which microenterprises engaged in the town. The study employed household survey and in-depth case study to elicit the required data from sample microenterprises selected from each sector. The study has found out that microenterprise operators combined different livelihood assets/capitals (human, physical, social, and financial) to pursue different livelihood strategies/activities, in different contexts, and realized such livelihood outcomes as increased income, reduced vulnerability, and improved food security. There were organizations and institutions that, in one way or another, enabled or constrained the livelihood endeavor of the operators. Rising cost of living, loss of business, declining supply and rising cost of local raw materials, chronic sickness and death of household heads were found to be the major shocks and stresses the sample households faced. In order to cope with these shocks/stresses, the households adapted such mechanisms as renting out rooms, reducing consumption of staple grains with soaring price, and shifting to less nutritious food items. Microenterprises have contributed to the sustainability of their livelihood by providing sufficient income that buffers them against stresses/shocks by themselves, and by supplementing other sources of income.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Africana
Depositing User:	Geoffrey Obatsa
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2019 11:39
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2019 11:42
URI:	http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/9237

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