FACTORS THAT AFFECT LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES AMONG SMALL ENTERPRISE DORZE WEAVERS IN ADDIS ABABA: THE CASE OF GULELE SUB CITY ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

In Addis Ababa Dorze weavers make their living through weaving and they are well known expert of weaving, but their livelihoods are being affected by many factors .Therefore this study carried out to identify factors that affect livelihood outcomes among small enterprise Dorze weavers in the case of Gulele subcity administration. From this sub city two largest weaving premises (Gundish_Meda and Addis Tesfa) were purposefully selected as study premises. The study used two research designs: case study research design and causal research design. Both qualitative and qualitative research approaches were employed for data that was collected from primary data sources through semi-structured questionnaire, interview and focused-group discussions. 15 enterprises from Gundish-Meda and 5 enterprises from Addis Tesfa weaving premises were purposefully selected and participated in focused-group discussions for case study design. 165 small enterprise Dorze weavers were selected using simple random sampling for causal research design and multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors that affect income of the weavers. From focused-group discussions: using traditional loom was main the loom related factor ; lack of common purpose and activity as an enterprise, lack of a business-centered culture, lack of saving, lack of proper time management were weavers related factors; seasonality of the demand of the weaving product on a market and existence of many middlemen were market and marketing related factors; price fluctuation for the raw materials was inputs price related factors ; rigidity of requirements to get loan from financial institutions was institution related factor that affect weavers’ livelihood outcomes in Addis Ababa. From seven independent variables used in regression analysis three variables: weaving time usage, alcoholic drinks usage culture and ability of weaver to weave advanced “tibeb” were significant at 95 percent level of confidence and weaving was significant at 90 percent level of confidence. 42.08 percent of deviations in the income among small enterprise Dorze weavers in Addis Ababa were explained by the model.