full report 2695

8/3/2019 Full Report 2695

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Participatory Impact Assessment of Women Income

Generating Groups under CARE intervention in

Borena, Ethiopia

ReportpreparedforCAREEthiopia,PastoralistPrograms

ByMirjam

Steglich

and

Gezu

Bekele

September2009


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Acknowledgement

TheparticipatoryimpactassessmentdocumentedinthisreporthasbeencommissionedbyCARE,Ethiopia.The

fieldworkwas importantlysupportedbyNigistShiferawandtheCAREBoranafieldstaffArasoGuyo,Halake

GataniandAbubakarTusa.Thestudywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportofmany,foremostthe

women of the WIGGs who sacrificed their valuable time to participate in the assessment; furthermore, the

many respondents who patiently participated in the interviews. Invaluable initial input into the study was

providedby

John

Burns

and

Andy

Catley

of

Tufts

University,

who

shared

their

knowledge

and

experience

from

similar field studies. Last but not least, Charles Hopkins, Pastoral Project Manager, CARE, importantly

contributedtothestudywithhisguidanceandadvice.


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TableofContentsTableofContents.................................................................................................................................................2

ListofAcronyms...................................................................................................................................................3

ListofTables.........................................................................................................................................................3

ListofDiagramsandBoxes...................................................................................................................................3

ExecutiveSummary..............................................................................................................................................4

KeyFindings.........................................................................................................................................................5

PolicyImplications ................................................................................................................................................5

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................6

2. ParticipatoryImpactAssessment:ApproachandMethods..........................................................................8

2.1. TheParticipatoryImpactAssessmentofCAREsupportedWIGGs...................................................8

2.2. SamplingFrame.............................................................................................................................. 9

2.3. AssessmentTechniques..................................................................................................................9

2.4. DataAnalysis.................................................................................................................................10

Results................................................................................................................................................................11

3. GroupProfilesofWomenIncomeGeneratingGroups...............................................................................11

4. LivelihoodImpactofCAREsupportedWIGGs............................................................................................14

4.1.

Changesin

Livelihood

Indicators

...................................................................................................

14

5. IncomeDiversificationofWIGGParticipants ..............................................................................................16

5.1. GroupIncomeEarningActivities:SuccessandFailures.................................................................16

5.2. BeneficialNoncashGroupActivities.............................................................................................17

5.3. RelativeChangesinIncomefromIndividualIncomeEarningActivities.........................................17

5.4. FemaleheadedHouseholdBenefitedmostfromtheWIGGActivities..........................................18

6. GroupLoanandSavingsOperations..........................................................................................................20

6.1. GroupSavings...............................................................................................................................20

6.2. LoansandthePurposeofLoansTaken.........................................................................................20

7. CopingStrategiestoMitigatetheEffectsofDrought.................................................................................22

8. AgencyInterventionsinSupportofWIGGs................................................................................................22

8.1. CARESupporttoWIGGs................................................................................................................22

8.2.

OtherSupporting

Agencies

and

CARE

Project

Attribution

.............................................................

23

9. Discussion..................................................................................................................................................25

9.1. TheAppropriatenessoftheParticipatoryImpactAssessmentApproach......................................25

9.2. SuccessesandChallengesoftheWomenIncomeGeneratingGroups..........................................25

9.3. TheRoleofSocialEmpowerment..................................................................................................27

9.4. StateoftheartApproachestoWIGGsandthePastoralLivelihoodContext.................................27

9.5. WIGGsstriveunderCARESupportandContributionsofotherAgenciesthatcreateanoverall

EnablingEnvironment...................................................................................................................28

10. Recommendations ......................................................................................................................................29

10.1. OptionsforScalingupandtheRoleofCARE.............................................................................29

10.2. PolicyRecommendations..........................................................................................................30

11.

References

.................................................................................................................................................

31

ListofInterviewPartners....................................................................................................................................32

Appendix1.........................................................................................................................................................33

Appendix2.........................................................................................................................................................34

Appendix3.........................................................................................................................................................35

Appendix4.........................................................................................................................................................36

Appendix5.........................................................................................................................................................39


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ListofAcronyms

CARE CooperativeforAssistanceandReliefEverywhere

CPO CooperatePromotionOffice

ELSE EnhancedLivelihoodsinSouthernEthiopia

ETB

EthiopianBirr

IGA IncomeGeneratingActivity

NGO NongovernmentalOrganization

PIA ParticipatoryImpactAssessment

PLI PastoralistLivelihoodInitiative

PRA ParticipatoryRuralAppraisal

RREAD RegionalResiliencyEnhancementAgainstDrought

WIGG WomenIncomeGeneratingGroup

ListofTables

Table1 WIGGPIAsamplingframe

Table2 BriefdescriptionofparticipatorymethodsusedintheWIGGimpactassessment

Table3 TranscribedtimelineoftheJirenyaWIGGintheYabelloWoreda

Table4 TranscribedtimelineoftheHormataWIGGintheTelteleWoreda

Table5 GeneralgroupcharacteristicsofthesurveyedthenCAREsupportedWIGGs

Table6 OverviewofWIGGengagementindifferentincomegeneratingactivitiesandtheirranking

Table7 WIGGsavingsandgroupfundcontributions

Table8 RankingagenciesfortheiruseandsupporttoWIGGs

ListofDiagramsandBoxes

Box1 ScannedcopyofatimelinefromTeltele

Diagram1 LivelihoodindicatorsofCAREsupportedWIGGsbeforeandafterprojectinterventions(N=10)

Box2 TypicalstatementsofCAREsupportedwomenWIGGmembersshowingelementsof

empowerment

Diagram2 ComparisonofindividualincomegeneratingactivitiesbeforeandafterWIGGinvolvementfor

membersofCAREgroups(N=56)andcontrolgroups(N=61)

Diagram3 AverageloanstakenbywomenofCAREgroups(N=56)andcontrolgroups(N=61)overthe

past12months

Box3 TrainingsandotherCAREinputs

Box4 ScannedcopyofavenndiagramfromagroupinYabello


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Participatoryimpactassessmentofwomenincomegeneratinggroupsunder

CAREinterventioninBorena,Ethiopia

ExecutiveSummary

This report presents results of a participatory impact assessment of CARE supported WIGGs in Borana,

SouthernEthiopia.Theassessment isbasedonapredominatelyparticipatoryapproach. Itsprimaryaim isto

identifyandmeasurethe impactofCAREsupportedWIGGsonthe livelihoodsofthebeneficiaries.It includes

both,positiveandnegativechangesinthelivelihoodsofparticipatinghouseholdsthatcanbeattributedtothe

project intervention. In addition, the analysis of economic, policy and institutional factors within which the

CARE intervention takes shape providesoptions for scalingupof the WIGGsapproachwithin the context of

safetynetprogramsindifferentsocioeconomicareasofEthiopia.

ThePIAiscarriedoutatindividualandgrouplevel.Theindividuallevelassessmentisconductedintheformof

questionnairetype interviews with 120 women; 60 women from CARE groups and 60 women from control

groups. The group level assessment consists of group discussions facilitated a small number of participatory

appraisal techniques with five to ten women per group. Secondary sources of information, such as key

informant interviews and project reports are used for purposes of triangulation and to gain a better

understanding of the environment in which the project is implemented and how related contextual factors

influencethesuccessandfailureoftheWIGGs.

Resultsascertain that the majority ofgroupsaresuccessfullyengaged ingroup incomegenerating activities,

foremostpetty trade,grain tradeandcattle fattening.About70%of the groupmembers benefit from small

loans offered by the WIGGs. Especially the vulnerable femaleheaded households derive significant financial

benefitsfrom theWIGGparticipation. Anadditional importantpositive livelihoodchangeattributedtoWIGG

membershipisanincreaseinknowledgeandselfesteemoftheparticipatingwomen.Thecombinationofmore

knowledgeandexperienceandenhancedsocialcohesionamonggroupmembers coupledwith theability to

participate incommunitydecisionmakingsubstantiallyenhanceswomenempowerment.Thewomengroups

showavitalconcernfortheircommunitywelfareandoftenencouragetheentirecommunitytogetinvolvedin

activities

such

as

hay

making

or

to

contribute

to

water

preservation.

Challenges to the functioning of WIGGs are conflict and migration due to drought. Strong, wellorganized

WIGGs, however, also devise innovative strategies to mitigate the effects of drought. The overall positive

impactofWIGGsonthelivelihoodsofparticipatingwomenjustifiesscalingupoftheseactivities,especiallyin

thepastoralist livelihoodcontext.Ongoingsociopoliticalchange, includingthepromotionofwomensrights,

createsanenablingenvironmentinwhichtheWIGGsplayacrucialroleinbringingabouttangiblebenefitsof

womenempowerment,suchashouseholdlivelihooddiversificationanddroughtresilience.

It is,however,necessarytoadvocatetheemergingroleofWIGGs in thepastoralist livelihoodcontextwhere

CAREsstrengthistoensureastateoftheartWIGGapproachandaclearpropoorvision.CAREmustcontinue

to emphasize the propoor focus of WIGGs while maintaining its collaboration with related government

agencies. Involved agencies should endeavor more transparency in project implementation and foster

continued peerlearning mechanisms among agencies to improve their WIGG support. A policy learning

dialogue with the respective government agencies can help to overcome the often too mechanistic

administration of cooperative promotion that jeopardizes the establishment of strong, selfreliant, and

accountableWIGGs.


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KeyFindings

TheWIGGshaveastrongpositive impactonthelivelihoodofparticipatingwomenandtheirhouseholds.

Especially the vulnerable femaleheaded households derive significant financial benefits from the WIGG

participation. Additional significant changes are noneconomic and relate to a range of factors that

contributeto

women

social

empowerment.

ThewomenWIGGmembersperceivetheknowledgeandinformationtheyreceiveintrainingcoursesand

crossvisitsasmostvaluableandperceivetheawarenesstheyderivefromtheseasthekeytochange.

StrongWIGGsthosethatarewellorganizedandachievedfinancialsuccessintheirgroupincomeearning

activitiesdevisedroughtmitigationstrategiesfortheirmembersandtheircommunitiesatlarge.

WIGGs operate within an enabling environment of supporting governmental and nongovernmental

agenciesaswellaspositiveinstitutional andsociopoliticalchange.WithinthisenablingenvironmentCARE

playsacrucialroleinensuringthepropooroutcomesofWIGGs.

While

CARE

and

other

NGOs

have

embarked

on

a

course

of

intensified

collaboration

with

the

governmentalCooperativePromotionOfficeinsupportofWIGGs,theagenciesarecaughtinthedilemma

ofdivergenceinapproachesandintereststowardsthisend.

PolicyImplications

The positive impact of WIGGs on the livelihoods of participating womenjustifies scalingup of these

activities,especiallyinthepastoralistlivelihoodcontext.

ItisnecessarytoadvocatetheemergingroleofWIGGsinthepastoralist livelihoodcontextwhereCAREs

strengthistoensureastateoftheartWIGGapproachandaclearpropoorvision.

Involved agencies should endeavor more transparency in project implementation and foster continued

peerlearningmechanismsamongagenciestoimprovetheirWIGGsupport.

Apolicy learningdialoguewiththerespectivegovernmentagenciescanhelptoovercome theoftentoo

mechanistic administration of cooperative promotion thatjeopardizes the establishment of strong, self

reliant,andaccountableWIGGs.


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1. Introduction

Pastoralistsystemsandrelatedlivelihoodsareincreasinglyunderpressureandcaughtinadownwardspiralof

resource depletion, poverty, and diminishing resilience against drought related emergencies (UNOCHA PCI

2007). It is generally understood that emergency drought interventions and related humanitarian relief

operationswillnotsolvetheproblem.CAREandotherNGOsthatprimarilyengagedinprovidingemergencyaid

inthe

past

have

undergone

amajor

policy

shift

and

now

focus

their

activities

on

reducing

the

vulnerability

of

pastoralists and their livelihoods, emphasizing improved drought management and long term development

programming.Livelihooddiversificationisakeystrategytowardsthisend,assistingpastoraliststobecomeless

dependenton livestockastheirsolehouseholdassetand incomegeneratingactivity(PantulianoandWekesa

2008).

Aspartofitslivelihooddiversificationstrategy,CAREEthiopiacarriesoutprojectactivitiessupportingwomen

incomegeneratingactivitiesinHarage,BoranaandAfar.Theseprojectsspecificallytargetwomeninpastoralist

communities. Its entry point are Women Income Generating Groups (WIGGs) that receive various inputs

through CARE, foremost trainings and seedmoney. This report presents the findings of the Participatory

ImpactAssessment(PIA)oftheCAREsupportedWIGGsinBorana,SouthernEthiopia.

Findingsoftheimpactassessmentarebasedongroupdiscussionsandindividualinterviewsutilizingasetof

participatory

appraisal

techniques

with

women

of

CARE

supported

groups

and

control

groups.

Additional

information sources are key informant interviews and various project documents. Unique to the WIGG

approach inBorana isthatCAREispioneeringtheuseofWIGGsinthecontextofapredominatelypastoralist

livelihood system. It is the first time that an impact assessment on WIGGs is undertaken in the pastoralist

contextofBorana.Among themainobjectivesof thePIA istoestablish thevalueoftheWIGGapproach for

livelihooddiversificationinthepastoralistcontextandabetterunderstanding oftheoptionsforscalingupof

theapproachinEthiopia.

The WIGG approach that CARE adopted builds on positive grassroots development experiences made with

women incomegenerationprogramsinEthiopiaandotherpartsofAfrica(CAREnodate;PARIMA2008;IFAD

1998). It enables women to diversify incomes through collective action and group savings. The primary

expectationintheprojectoutcomeistheeconomicempowermentofwomenparticipants, whichisperceived

to

taleplace

as

a

directchain

of

impact,

leading

from

improved

access

to

small

loans,

to

intensified

small

enterprise activities, to income diversification and related poverty reduction. However, WIGG activities also

generate indirect, nevertheless equally beneficial, impact. Typically, the indirect impact of microfinance

schemesoccurs inadiverserangeofoutcomesandpathwaysand is lesstangible(SebstadandCohen2001).

Socialempowermentisamongtheseoutcomes.Likewise,theabilityoftheWIGGstoadoptdroughtmitigation

mechanismsasanotherwaytoenhancehouseholdsriskmanagementcapacitiesisofparticularinterestinthis

regard.

The PIA findings show that CAREs intervention has brought about positive changes in the lives of the

participants. Women who have until recently been predominately involved in livestock husbandry took up

alternative and complementary income earning activities. While not all of the group activities have been

successfulandwomenexperienceoccasionalsetbacks,themajorityofthemperceivetheirsmallenterprisesas

profitableand

report

increasing

financial

independence.

The

financial

independence

becomes

apparent

in

the

womensabilitytocovertheirchildrensschoolfeesandfamilymedicalexpenses,andownoftenforthefirst

time in their liveshouseholdassetssuchassmallruminates,cattleorhousehold utensils.Thesavingsand

loanfunctionofthegroups,whichconstitutes theprimarysourceofcapitalforthewomen,operateswell in

spiteofthechallengethatalmostallthewomenparticipants areilliterate.Loansareutilizedbyover70percent

oftheWIGGmembers.

However,womendonotonlyusetheloanstoinvestintheirsmallbusinessactivitiesbutalsocoverhousehold

expenseswiththeloans.Thisbecomesparticularlyvital intimesoftemporaryfoodshortageand lackofcash

during periods of drought. It demonstrates that women employ the WIGG scheme in innovative ways that


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7|P a g e

generate additional benefits from WIGG membership that are particularly vital in the pastoral context.

Common for successful women income generating collectiveaction groups (Premchander 1994), the PIA

findingsdocumentaremarkablegain insenseofselfconfidence inthewomenWIGGparticipants. Thesocial

empowermentthatthewomenderivefromtheWIGGschemegeneratesbenefitsbeyondthehouseholdlevel,

since the women use their enhanced authority and knowledge to involve the larger community in activities

suchashaymakingorwaterpreservation.

The

pastoral

context

poses

specific

challenges,

foremost

illiteracy,

temporary

migration,

and

very

limited

access to markets, which make the operation of the WIGGs difficult for the women and for the project

implementation.Projectexperienceso farhasshown that thesechallengescanbeovercome. Inthisregard,

the CARE project staff firmly follows a stateoftheart bottomup participatory approach in facilitating the

WIGGactivitiesanddoesnot imposeactivities in facilitating theWIGGs.ThePIArevealsanadditional,more

severechallengethatjeopardizestheviabilityofanumberofgroups.InsomecasestheactivitiesoftheWIGGs

are closely supervised by the Cooperative Promotion Office (CPO). The CPO often imposes specific income

earningactivitiesonthegroupsorrushesthemtojoinintoformal lagercooperativeunits,despitethe lackof

organizational capacity for that step. While the collaborative partnership between CARE and the CPO is

perceived as mutually advantageous and of important benefit to the project, both agencies operate with

conflicting objectives. CARE focuses on establishing sustainable, selfreliant groups, but the CPO is under

pressure

to

quickly

establish

larger

formal

cooperatives.

Where

the

CPO

hijacks

the

CARE

WIGGs

for

itspurposes,CAREinvestmentsareindangerwhengroupscollapse.

In scalingup the WIGG approach CARE will have to ensure that it maintains its propoor approach and find

waystosafeguardthe integrityoftheWIGGs itsupports.Additionalsuggestionsonhowbesttoachievethis

areaddressed intheconcludingsection.Thestructureofthereport issuchthatfirstthemethodologyofthe

PIA and related data collection and analysis are described. Subsequently WIGG member livelihood and

livelihood changes as outcomes of group assessments are documented. A more detailed account of impact

related to income diversification and the loan and savings scheme based on information from individual

interviewsandcomparisonwithacontrolgroupareputforwardinthefollowingchapters.Attheendofeach

chapter, points of relevance for the WIGG approach are raised. A summary discussion and policy

recommendations are found at the end. Additional documentation, including photographs showing the

participatoryassessmentconductedinBorana,isintheappendix.


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2. ParticipatoryImpactAssessment:ApproachandMethods

2.1.TheParticipatoryImpactAssessmentofCAREsupportedWIGGs

The impact assessment of CARE supported women income generating groups in Borena is based on a

predominatelyparticipatoryapproach.ItsprimaryaimistoidentifyandmeasuretheimpactofCAREsupported

WIGGson

the

livelihoods

of

the

beneficiaries.

It

includes

both,

positive

and

negative

changes

in

the

livelihoods

ofprojectparticipants.Usingaparticipatory livelihoodapproachallowsforanintegratedanalysisofcomplex,

highlydynamicruralcontextsandlooksatdevelopmenteffortsfromalocallevelpointofview(Scoones2009).

Inaddition,theanalysisofeconomic,policyandinstitutional factorswithinwhichtheCAREinterventiontakes

shape, provides options for scalingup of the WIGGs approach within the context of safety net programs in

differentsocioeconomicareasofEthiopia.

Participatory ImpactAssessments(PIA)combineparticipatorytechniquesfromthefieldofPRA(Participatory

Rural Appraisal) with more conventional statistical methods of data exploration in order to give meaningful

measurements of the impact of interventions on livelihoods (Catley et al. 2007). The advantage of the PIA

approach is that the people targeted by the intervention are directly involved in the assessment, utilizing

participatoryappraisaltoolsthatareadaptedtothespecificlocalsituation(Guijt1998).Ideallytheassessment

itselfserves

as

alearning

exercise

for

project

staff

and

participants.

In

the

present

case,

however,

the

main

motivationbehindundertakingthePIAwastogatherreliable informationdirectlyfromandwith theproject

beneficiaries. The methods employed allow to partly express otherwise qualitative information in numerical

estimates. This eases interpretation and facilitates comparisons for those in charge of program design and

fundingdecisions.

Thepresent assessment targets exclusively the female membersof thoseWIGGs thatreceive directsupport

from CARE1. Men participate in some of the WIGGs and also contribute to income generating activities at

times2.Womenare,however,thekeyclientgroupofconcern in thisassessment. It isreasonable toassume

thattherearemarkedgenderdifferencesandthatwomeninBoranahavedifferentprioritiesandexpectations

about their livelihood situation and livelihood changes related to the WIGGs (Holt and Ribe 1991). Men are

thereforepurposefullyexcludedfromtheassessmenttoavoidabiasinthedata.

AnumberofprojectreportsinformaboutCAREinvolvementinsupportingcommunitybasedsavingsandcredit

groups and their income generating activities, project implementation modalities, and also describe related

livelihood changes. The information provided in these reports, however, is foremost of a qualitative nature.

BaselinedataonmeasurementsofWIGGparticipants livelihood indicators isnotavailable.Intheabsenceof

such baseline data the present PIA uses a control group women who are members of WIGGs that have

neitherreceivedsupport byCARE nor anyother NGO3 forcomparisonof livelihood indicators. Inaddition,

longitudinal data on livelihood changes is collected by recall, i.e. women who are members in the CARE

supportedWIGGscomparetheirpresentdaylivelihoodsituationwiththatbeforeparticipatinginthegroup.

ThePIAiscarriedoutatindividual andgrouplevel(Table1).Theindividual levelassessmentisconductedinthe

form of questionnairetype interviews with 120 women; 60 women from CARE groups and 60 women from

control

groups.

The

group

level

assessment

consists

of

10

group

discussions

facilitated

by

participatory

appraisal techniques with five to 10 women per group. Secondary sources of information, such as key

informant interviews and project reports are used for purposes of triangulation and to gain a better

understanding of the environment in which the project is implemented and how related contextual factors

1TheCAREsupportconsistsofadefinedpackageofprojectactivitiesimplementedbyCARE,partofwhichistheprovision

ofseedmoneytothegroups.Thisisdescribedinmoredetailthepreviouschapter1.2Inthe2008assessmentofCAREgroups(WIGGsandLMGs),56percentwereexclusivelycomposedofwomen(CARE

2008).Fromthetotalof22WIGGsinBorenaunderCAREsupport,eightgroupsalsohavemalemembersatpresent.3Itisimportanttonote,nevertheless,thatcontrolgroupsarenotentirelyunattendedbutreceivesupportfromtheCPO.


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influencethesuccessandfailureoftheWIGGs.ThevalidityofthePIAfindingsisfurthermoreconsolidatedby

assessingthesamelivelihoodaspectsthroughdifferentPRAtools.

2.2. SamplingFrame

Asdepictedinappendix1,thereareatpresent22WIGGsunderCAREsupportinBorena.Thegroupsareinsix

districts of Borena and have a total of approximately 1750 members of which about 1630 are women.

Differencesin

the

location

of

the

groups

importantly

determine

access

to

main

markets

and

proximity

to

larger

urbansettlements.Thegroupsthusformtwoclusters:a)remoteWIGGs,andb)WIGGsinproximitytourban

settlementsand/oramarket.SlightlymorethanhalfoftheWIGGshadobtainedseedmoneyfromCAREatthe

timeoftheassessment.

Outofthe22WIGGs,asampleof10WIGGswasselectedforthePIA.Intheselectionpreferencewasgivento

those groups that had received seed money. The purpose behind this sampling method is to allow the

assessmenttocapturethespecificbenefitsachievedbycomparativelystrongeroradvancedgroupsthathadto

make choices on how to utilize the seed money for the group. Furthermore, both clusters are equally

representedinthesample.Theindividualinterviewswerecarriedoutwitharandomsampleofsixmembersof

eachofthe10WIGGsandanothersixwomenrandomlysampledfromanalternativeincomegeneratinggroup

atthesame10locations.Table1givesanoverviewofthesamplingframe.

Table1:WIGGPIAsamplingframe

IndividualLevel GroupLevel

Individualinterviews Semistructuredgroupdiscussions

10CAREsupported

groups

6randomlysampled

womenofeachgroup totalof60 510womenpergroup

10controlgroups

6randomlysampled

womenofeachgroup totalof60

total 120women about80women

2.3. AssessmentTechniques

ThePRAtoolsasdepicted intable2wereusedtofacilitateguidedgroupdiscussionswith510membersper

group.Thediscussionsstartedbydeveloping atimelineoftheWIGGthatinformsabouttheageofthegroup,

keyevents,interventionsandactivities.Itincludesarecallofgoodsandservicesthatthegroupreceivedfrom

CAREandotheragencies.Thetimelinewasalsoutilizedtosetthetemporalboundaries4oftheproject(Catley

etal.2007)thatprovidethebasisforthelongitudinal approachtomeasuringimpact.

In thenextstepthegroupswereaskedto identifythe incomeearningactivitiesthat thewomenengaged in

sincetheWIGGintervention.Itwasdiscussedhowtheseactivitiesareperceivedtohavecontributedtooverall

household incomeand ifthesehavechangedthewayhouseholdscopewithdrought.Thewomenwerethen

askedtoranktheincomeearningactivitiesaccordingtotheirvalueinpositivelyeffectinghouseholdincome.

Theinitial

plan

included

simple

wealth

ranking

in

the

assessment,

which

was

soon

dropped

from

the

survey.

Thiswillbereferredtoinmoredetailintheresultschapter.Subsequentlylivelihoodindicatorswereidentified

withthefirstgroupsandkeptthroughouttheassessment.

Proportionalpilingwasusedtogivevaluestothelivelihoodindicatorsandtomakecomparisonsbetweenthe

timebeforetheWIGGsstartedandthepresentday.

4Temporalprojectboundariesareusedtodefinethebeforeandafterperiodsofanintervention.


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Abriefinstitutional analysisintheformofvenndiagramming(Guijt1998)wasusedtodescribeandcompare

the relevance of CARE interventions with those of other agencies, individuals, and/or institutions. The main

reasonbehind thistechnique istostrengthentheassessmentresults inrespect toprojectattributionandto

betterunderstandthecontextualfactorsthatinfluenceWIGGoutcomes.

Theindividualinterviewswerebasedonaquestionnairedepictedinappendix5.Thetechniqueofproportional

piling was used here with each individual to assess changes in income sources and expenditures. While this

technique only generates relative changes, these were found more reliable in its informative value than

accountsofabsoluteamountsofincomeandexpenditures.

Table2:BriefdescriptionofparticipatorymethodsusedintheWIGGimpactassessment

Assessmenttechnique Purpose Surveygroup

TimelineoftheWIGG Toidentifyeventsandinterventionsthatinfluenced

theevolutionofthegroup

510membersperWIGG

Rankingtheincome

earningactivities

Toevaluatetheutilityofdifferentincomeearning

activities

510membersperWIGG

Proportionalpiling TodeterminetheWIGGimpactonthewomen

livelihoods

510membersperWIGG

Tocompareexpenditures beforeandafterWIGG

involvement

Individualinterviews

Tocomparecontributionsofdifferent income

earningactivities

Individualinterviews

Venndiagram Toidentifyprojectattributionandcontextualfactors 510membersperWIGG

Semistructured

interviews

Basisforthegroupsdiscussions 510membersperWIGG

Guidelinesfortheinterviews Keyinformants

Structuredquestionnaire Togatherdatabaseattheindividuallevel Individualinterviews

2.4. DataAnalysis

Thedata

of

the

individual

questionnaires

was

entered

into

MS

Excel

spreadsheets

(Microsoft

Excel

2000,

MS

Office 2000, Microsoft Corporation). The data was subsequently checked and entryerrors corrected.

ResponsestoopenendedquestionsandoutcomesofgroupdiscussionsandrelatedPRAtoolsweretranscribed

into analyzable data formats. Data was subsequently transferred into STATGRAPHICS5 (XLSTAT Version

2008.6.03,Addinsoft19952008)forstatisticalanalysis.Descriptivestatisticswereusedforthepresentation of

findings.Whereapplicable,differencesinmeansandfrequencieswereanalyzed,usingrelevantparametricand

nonparametric test statistics. Unless otherwise indicated in the report, differences were not statistically

significant.Summarystatistics(descriptive)formembersofCAREgroupsandcontrolgroupsshowthatgeneral

householdcharacteristicsofbothgroupsaresimilar.ThesearefoundintheAppendix.

5www.statgraphics.com/


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11|P a g e

Results

3.GroupProfilesofWomenIncomeGeneratingGroups

Anumberofsimilaritiesanddifferencesingroupprofilesand intheevolutionthegroupsunderwentbecome

apparentfromthetimelineinformationthatwascompliedingroupdiscussionswiththemembersoftheCARE

supportedWIGGs.

Tables

3and

Table

4below

give

transcribed

information

from

two

time

lines

that

were

put

togetherwithWIGGs inYabelloandTelteledistrictsofBorana.Box1depictsascannedcopyofoneoriginal

timelineofagroupdiscussioninYabello.

Table3:TranscribedtimelineoftheJirenyaWIGGintheYabelloWoreda

Key events Year Group activities of Jirenya WIGG in Yabello Woreda Inputs received from CARE

2006 WIGG establishment process

Group engaged in petty trade business

Group initiated cattle trade business (10 head ofcattle)

Women mobilization through CARE

CARE provided initial training and guided theset-up of the business plan

Genna rainsfailed

onset of2007/2008

drought

2007 Migration of some WIGG members

Interruption of savings scheme

With water from Dubuluk and hay from Yabello thewomen bring the cattle through the drought

Heavy rains endthe drought

2008 Savings scheme re-initiated

10 head of cattle are sold with a profit

Additional training courses received throughCARE (business management, savings andcredit)

CARE organized the cross-visit to Negele andHodja

Group received dairy utensils from CARE

Group receivesseed-moneyfrom CARE

2009 Group members engage in hay making

Grain trading imitated

Group builds grain store/office

CARE links the WIGG with grain traders

Source:PIAresults

Table4:TranscribedtimelineoftheHormataWIGGintheTelteleWoreda

Key events Year Group activities of Hormata WIGG in Teltele Woreda Inputs received from CARE

2005 The WIGG is established

Savings and credit scheme is initiatedThe areaexperiencesdrought andconflict

2006 WIGG savings and credit scheme is interrupted

Members migrate in search for water and pasture

Group stopped their activities entirely

2007 WIGG members return to their original place

WIGG receives revolving fund (12000ETB) grouploan from CPO

Group activities re-started

2008 WIGG repays 12000ETB to CPO CARE provides training (business management,hay making)

CARE conducts an experience sharing visit (withNazret and Nagelle)

CARE provides materials for building of astore/office

2009 WIGG engages in cattle trade Group receives seed-money from CARE

Source:PIAresults


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Box1:ScannedcopyofatimelinefromTeltele

Asdepictedintable5,exceptforoneWIGGwhereactivitiesstartedasearlyas1995,allgroupshavebeenin

operationforbetween35years(2004and2006).Theemphasisthewomenareplacingonthisrelativelyshort

groupengagement

reflects

the

time

horizon

of

CAREs

support

to

the

groups,

first

under

LPI

and

subsequently

undereitherRREADorELSEprojects.Womendeniedbelongingtosimilarsavingsandloangroupsinthepast.

InotherpartsofEthiopiaandacrosstheAfricancontinenttraditionalsavingsandloangroupsareverycommon

and constitute vital social and financial support institutions (IFAD, 1998). It is possible however, that such

institutionsdidnotnormallysuitethepastoralistcommunitylifestyleandrelatedexpectationsinthepast.

Womenofasmallnumberofgroupsreportedtohaveorganizedthemselvesintogroupsandstartedloanand

savings activities on their own initiative. The larger number of groups acknowledged outside intervention,

whichinsomecaseshasbeenCAREandinotherstheCPOthatgavetheinitialimpetustostartthegroup.

ThenumberofWIGGmembersrangesbetween33and50.Womennotedthatitwasnotadvisabletoengage

toomanymembers inoneWIGGinordertoremainabletomanagethegroupactivitieseffectively.Likewise,

proximityof

location

and

clear

interest

of

the

member

to

participate

in

group

activities

are

important

factors

in

determining group membership. Twogroups had stipulated bylaws of group membership, stating that only

communitymembersactivelyinvolvedinhaymakingwereeligibleWIGGmembers.

Table5:GeneralgroupcharacteristicsofthesurveyedtenCAREsupportedWIGGs

Name Kebele District Year

established

Numberof

members

Male/Female

membership

CARE

project

Seed

money

1 JireenaDikale Dikale Yabello 2006 36 Male/Female RREAD 25000ET

2 Bultuma Birindar Teltele 2006 33 Female ELSE 15000ET

3 Mude FuloTole Teltele 2006 36 Male/Female RREAD 25000ET

4 Hormata Birinda Teltele 2005 44 Female ELSE 15000ET

5 Derara Dikale Yabello 2006 34 Female ELSE 15000ET

6 Negeya Magado Dire 1995 52 Female ELSE 15000ET

7

Degaga

Jirenya

Chamuk

Moyale

2004

47

Male/Female

RREAD

25000ET

8 IbsaGemechu Mado Moyale 2006 50 Female ELSE 15000ET

9 QarsoQaliti Mado Moyale 2006 46 Female ELSE 15000ET

10 AbdiBori Mado Moyale 2006 37 Male/Female RREAD 25000ET

Source:PIAresults

CAREalreadystartedsupportingaWIGGschemeundertheBVRI.WiththestartoftheLPIprojectin2005these

activitieswere continued until2007. In 2008, CARE provided support toa number of newly selected WIGGs

under the ELSE and RREAD projects. At present, WIGG groups are supported by CARE under a trilateral

agreement between the group, CARE, and the CPO. About seven members per group participate in initial


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13|P a g e

trainingstoenablethegrouptodevelopabusinessplan.Afterthebusinessplanisacceptedasviablegroups

becomeeligibletoreceiveseedmoney.Thetransactionofseedmoneytakesplaceviaabankaccountofthe

groupatthebank inoneofthelargertowns inthearea.Groupsarealsoencouragedtobuildanoffice/store

building for which theyoftenreceivesupport inprovisionof materialsand transport of thematerials to the

village.

Partlyrelatedtothedifferentprojectphases inwhich thegroupsformed,variations ingroupprofilescanbe

substantial.AdditionalinformationinAppendix3showsthatnotallgroupsthusfarreceivedthesametraining

components. The groups also engage in individual savings and credit schemes to suit the groups ability of

monthly savings and other obligations. Some groups have been disrupted by drought and conflict related

migration.Twogroupslostalltheirsavingsastheresultofaviolentconflict.Thetimelinesshowthatgroups

require adequately individualized support because differences in age and capacity make it necessary to

considerinputsinrelationtospecificgrouprequirements.


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4. LivelihoodImpactofCAREsupportedWIGGs

4.1. ChangesinLivelihoodIndicators

Comparison of relative importance of five key livelihood indicators6, namely child education, social

cohesion, knowledge, livestock assets and market access before and after the WIGG interventions is

depictedin

diagram

1.

Groups

of

women

of

the

CARE

supported

WIGGs

weighed

the

five

livelihood

indicators

comparingtheirpresentlivelihoodsituationwiththesituationbeforetheWIGGexited. Therelativesharesof

the livelihood indicators knowledge 7

, social cohesion and market access markedly increased over the

timeoftheWIGGinterventions. Livestockassets7significantlydecreased.

Diagram1:LivelihoodindicatorsofCAREsupportedWIGGsbeforeandafterprojectinterventions(N=10)

Note:ForthelivelihoodindicatorsknowledgeandlivestockassetsthetestfordifferencesinmeansbeforeCAREsupportandin2009is

significantatp


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15|P a g e

thewomengeneratefromthem.Theresultingknowledgeandheightenedawarenessabouttheopportunities

in reach of the women have an extremely strong motivating effect. As a result the women consider

knowledgethekeytothechangesthattheyexperiencedasaresultoftheirgroupengagement.Box2further

belowgivessometypicalexpressionsthatthewomenusedtoexplainthevalueofknowledgeandhowithas

turnedintoakeyfactorcontributingtotheirempowerment.

Socialcohesion,theabilityofthewomentorelyonanenhancedsocialnetworkandthegroupsupport in

managingvariousaspectsoftheirlivelihood,e.g.business,decisionmaking,financialandlaborassistance,and

solvingfamilyconflict,islikewiseimportantlyincreasedsincetheWIGGinvolvement.

Box2:TypicalstatementsofCAREsupportedwomenWIGGmembersshowingelementsofempowerment

Source:PIAresults

Contrarytothediagramresultsthatdepictadiminishingroleofchildeducationlivelihoodindicator,thishas

remainedstableifnotincreased.Womenexplainedthatduetomoreschools,educatingchildrenhasbecome

easier and especially the education of girls has increased. Women emphasized the importance of girls

education.In

some

groups

women

said

they

have

always

taken

care

to

educate

at

least

some

of

their

children,

thoughmostlyboys,butwithmorefinancialresourcesavailabletheynowsendtheirchildrenfurtherawayand

canprovidehighereducation(collegeanduniversity).Asaresultoftheproportionalpilingtechnique,however,

wherethewomenmaintainthesameamountofstones,schoolremainedlessemphasizedduetotheattention

giventochangesintheearliermentionedindicators.

AsreflectedinsomeofthekeyexpressionsofthegroupdiscussionslistedinBox2,themembershipinWIGGs

hashadanimportantempoweringeffectonthewomen.Womenunanimouslyemphasizedthecrucialrolethat

theknowledge,informationandexposureplaysincontributingtotheirempowermentandthesuccessofthe

incomeearningactivities.Interestingly,womenopposedasimplewealthrankingonthegroupsthat itwould

havetoaccommodatewealthintermsofknowledge.Whilethewomenunambiguously explainedthebenefits

oftheincomegeneratingactivities,theirperspectiveisthatknowledgewasthefoundationandthusthemore

vitalchange

in

their

lives.

Some

women

went

as

far

as

stating

wealth

would

be

meaningless

without

knowledge

andawareness.Theemphasis thatwomen place in linking knowledgeand income diversification shows that

CAREhastakentherightdirection inprojectsupportbynotjustprovidingcapitalmeans intheformofseed

money,but by making sure that sufficient and adequate trainings and crossvisits giveexposure, knowledge

andskillstothewomen.

Thewealthisinourheads.

Beforetheheadwaswiththemen,nowitiswiththewomen.

Moneyisuselesswithouttraining.

Beforeallthelivestockwaswiththemen.Nowwealsoown

livestock

Wenowtakepartinthedecisionmakingofourcommunities

Sinceweparticipatedinthetrainingsandcrossvisits,themen

aremoreeasywithustraveling

thegroupalsoassistsinsolvingfamilyconflict

Wearenowmoreoftenconsultedbythemen

Wearenowaskedtoparticipateincommunitymeetings


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16|P a g e

5. IncomeDiversificationofWIGGParticipants

5.1. GroupIncomeEarningActivities:SuccessandFailures

Based on project experiences in the region (CARE/ELSE 2009; Deneke 2009), and an earlier feasibility study

(Griffith2008),theWIGGsareadvisedtoengageinpettytradeasthefirstjointbusinessactivity.Pettytrade8

involvesrelatively

small

investments

and

is

comparatively

less

risk

prone.

The

women

themselves

confirmed

thatthisadvice is in linewiththeirownpreferredengagement in incomeearningactivities. Typicallywomen

startwithgroupactivitiesandonlylaterdowomentakeloanstoinvestintheirindividualsmallenterprise.

Onceexperiencehasbeengainedwithpettytrade, larger investmentsareundertaken.Usuallythese involve

the purchase of livestock, foremost cattle for fattening. Donkeys and camels have been bought to ease

transport for group activities. Mixed accounts were given about the success of livestock purchases. Some

women groups were able to make profit from periodic fluctuations in livestock prices. They bought cattle

relativelycheaperduringthedrymonthsandsolditwhenpricesarehigh.However,othergroupshadtosell

during a low price period. The women regretted the loss, but remained positive, saying to have learned a

lesson. Another group had lost their investment into two camels, because the animals died. One group

informedabouttheirplantoengageinlargescaletradewithsheepthatwouldbeindemandoncerestocking

activitiesof

another

NGO

would

commence

at

the

end

of

adrought.

AnotherincomeearningactivityoftheWIGGs,onethatalreadydemonstratesamoreadvancedstateofgroup

development, isthetradewithmaizeorothercerealsthatare indemand locally.Thiscanbeavery lucrative

activity for the women as the bulk purchase and organizedbulk transport offers considerable economiesof

scale.TheWIGGs,however,requireassistancefromprojectstafftolinkthemupwithcerealtraders,whocan

havetheirwarehousesasfarasShashamene,Sidamoregion.

Lessconventional activities that thewomenengage inarecrop farming,preservationandsalesofhidesand

skins, renting out improved grazing land, harvesting salt from a saltmine and offering loan services to

outsiders. The project also encouraged dairy processing and marketing, which was not taken up yet by the

womenwhoarguedthattheywouldneedtrainingintheuseofthesmallscalemilkhandlingequipmentthat

theCARE

project

supplied

them

with.

While the women confirmed their business success in petty trade, cattle fattening and cereal trade, crop

farminghasbeenamajorstrainontwooutofthethreegroupswhoventuredintothisactivity.Harvestsfailed

and the missinvestment was a gross disappointment to the women, affecting group motivation very

negatively.Cropfarming isanactivitythatthewomencanseldomcarryoutrelyingontheirown laborforce

only. Commonly the men of their households are requested to assist with the clearing of the fields. The

negative impact of such failures thus affects not only the women but also makes the men suspicious and

reluctanttofurthersupporttheirwivesgroupengagement.

Table 6givesan overview of theWIGG income generating activitiespresently undertakenand theresultsof

their ranking according to their importance in generating additional income. While the profits gained from

petty

trade

can

be

variable,

grain

sales

have

a

higher

margin,

and

cattle

fattening

achieves

a

higher

lump

sum

cashincome.Thewomenemphasizedthattheystillrankedpettytradefirst,basedon itsreliablereturnsand

lowerrisksinvolved.

8Pettytradecommoditiesaresugar,salt,tea,tobaccoandsimilargoods.


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17|P a g e

Table6:OverviewofWIGGengagementindifferentincomegeneratingactivitiesandtheirrankings

Mostcommonincomeearningactivities Lessconventionalincomeearningactivities

Rank Groupandindividuallevel Grouplevel

1 Pettytrade

Cropfarming,hides/skinpreservationandtrade,

rentingoutgrazingland,offeringloanservices2 Cattlefattening

3 Graintrade

Source:PIAresults

5.2. BeneficialNon-cashGroupActivities

Thereareadditionalgroup activities thatarenotundertaken with the objective toearncash profit, but still

importantlyandpositivelyimpactonthewomenlivelihoods.Theseareforemosthaymakingandintwocases

investments in setting up water cisterns. One particularly strong WIGG has built two cisterns for their

communitiesoverthecourseofthepastsixyears.Thewomenidentifiedtheneedtopreservewaterduringthe

rainyseasonsinordertohaveareserveforthedrymonths.Whenthefirstcisternwasinsufficienttohelpthe

entirecommunitysustainoneprolongeddrought,theyinvestedinthebuildingasecondandlargercistern.The

women collaborated with the men of their households in this activity, who assisted in the digging of the

ground. The same women were also successfully engaged in harvesting salt from a nearby saltmine and

motivated

the

entire

Kebele

to

preserve

hay

by

their

example

and

admonitions.

The

women

of

the

WIGG

narratedthatsufficienthayandtheabilitytotakesmall loansfromtheWIGGstoovercomeshortperiodsof

foodshortagecanpreventafamilyfromhavingtomigratewiththeirlivestockinsearchforbettergrazingland.

Thisrepresentsanimportantpositivelivelihoodimpact.

HaymakingisadvocatedbyCARE,aswellasthroughtheCPOandotheragencyinterventionsinthearea.All

groups reported to have received training in hay making, had organized themselves for this task and were

activelyundertakinghaypreservationperiodically.Allgroupsperceivedtheactivityasveryuseful inorderto

maintain livestock feed supplies over the dry months. The groups thatwere found to be more successful in

carryingoutotheractivities (IGAandsavings) likewisemorestronglyvaluedthebenefitsofhaymaking.One

group turned land that had initially been allocated for crop faming into grazing land. After the crop harvest

faileddueto lackofrains,thewomendecidedthattheycouldstillgain incomefromrentingthe landoutfor

livestockuse.

TwoWIGGsreportedtoofferloanservicesbeyondtheirgroupmemberstooutsiders.Theinterestthatpeople

payontheloanisanadditionalincomeforthegroup.Whilethisactivityisinnovative,workswellforthegroup

andarguablyservesadirelocalneedtohaveaccesstosmallshorttermamountsofcredit,itisunclearwhether

thisisnotanactivitythatonlyformallyregisteredfinancialinstitutionsareallowedtooffertotheirclients.

5.3. RelativeChangesinIncomefromIndividualIncomeEarningActivities

Diagram2depictstherelativechangesindifferentincomesourcesforCAREandcontrolgroupsatpresentand

in the time before WIGG interventions. Both CARE and control groups derive similar overall income shares,

namely42.3%and38.1%respectively, fromlivestockandlivestockproductsales.Moreover,bothgroupshares

fromlivestock

related

income

have

not

changed

in

association

with

the

WIGG

involvement.

Therelativechangesinincomefromtradeandothersources9aremorepronouncedforwomeninthecontrol

groups.Theincomesharefromtradehasimportantlyincreasedwhiletheincomesharefromothersourcesof

incomehasmarkedlydecreasedsincetheWIGG involvement. The increase inthe incomesharefromtrade is

expectedtotakeplaceasaresultofWIGGinvolvementandassuchwouldrepresentapositiveoutcome.Inthe

case of the CARE supported WIGGs, the changes in income shares from trade are smaller and remain

considerablybelowtheseofcontrolgroups.However,thewomenoftheCAREsupportedWIGGsexperienceda

9OtherincomesourcearefirewoodandPSNP


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18|P a g e

markeddropinincomesharesfromcropfarming.Thelargestpositivechangeinincomeshareisderivedfrom

anincreaseinrelativeincomefromothersources.

Therelativechangesinincomederivedfromtrade(pettytrade)aremarkedlylargerforwomenofthecontrol

groupsthanforthewomenofCAREgroups,wherethepositivechange isnotverypronounced.Thisresult

showing that women of CARE supported groups might not have benefited as much from petty trade10

is

difficultto interpret. It is,however,partlyrelatedtothePRAtechniquethatdoesnot informaboutabsolute

overall changes in income. It must also be noted that the data informs about individual income generating

activities,not thesuccessofgroup incomegeneratingactivities. It ispossible that thewomenofthecontrol

groupsaresimplymoresuccessfulinpettytrade.TheycouldalsoreceivemuchstrongersupportfromtheCPO,

whichcouldbackfireintermsofprojectsustainability.

AtleasttwooftheCAREsupportedWIGGgroupsexperiencedtotalcropfailures.Itisthereforenotsurprising

thattheshareofindividualincomefromcropfarmingisnegative,asthecropfailurewasattributedtodrought.

Diagram2:ComparisonofindividualincomegeneratingactivitiesbeforeandafterWIGGinvolvementfor

membersofCAREgroups(N=56)andcontrolgroups(N=61)

Source:PIAresults

5.4. Female-headedHouseholdBenefitedmostfromtheWIGGActivities

Sincethe individualquestionnairecaptures informantsgenderhistory,comparisonofthe loanscollectedfor

tradepurposesandtheproportionof incomeobtainedfromthesetradeactivitiesbeforeandaftertheWIGG

initiativewas implemented ispossible.The teststatisticsusedhere toestablishsignificantdifferences ischi

square. The analysis was repeated for two distinct gender groups women who are the head of their

household and women from maleheaded households to find out who benefited more from the WIGG

initiative. The comparison was done using data obtained from a total of 104 maleheaded and 13 female

headedindividualinformantsthatwererandomlysampledfromthelistsofmembersoftheWIGGs.

TheassessmentshowedthatfollowingtheWIGGbasedtradeinitiativetheproportionofincomederivedfrom

tradeactivityincreasedasfollows:

10Notethatthesearerelativechangesandtheabsoluteamountsareunknown


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19|P a g e

Overall,theproportionofincomegeneratedfromtradeactivitiesincreasedfrom13.4%to20.3%,beinga

51.8%incrementonaverage.

On average, the proportion of income generated from trade activities by femaleheaded households

increased from 10.75% to 19.85%, being a 84.6% increment. On average, the proportion of income

generated from trade activity by maleheadedhouseholds only increased from 15.8% to 20.7%, being a

29.7%increment.

Inboth,theCAREbeneficiaryandcontrolWIGGsstudied,onaverage,thefemaleheadedhouseholdshave

borrowedsignificantlyhigheramountsofmoneyfromtheirWIGGfortradepurposethanthemaleheaded

households.

Inbothfemale andmaleheadedCAREbeneficiaryhouseholds,theamountofmoneyborrowedfortrade

purpose after the CARE seedmoney was significantly higher than the amount of money borrowed for

tradepurposebeforetheCAREseedmoneywasreceived..

In the CARE beneficiary WIGGs, on average, the proportion of income generated from trade activity by

female andmaleheadedhouseholdsincreasedfrom7.8%to8.7%andfrom14.1%to17.2%,beingaround

12%and22%incrementrespectively.

In the control WIGG studied, on average, the proportion of income generated from trade activity by

female

and

maleheaded

households

increased

from

13.7%

to

31%

and

from

17.9%

to

24.3%,

being

around36%and26%incrementrespectively.

Although the findings of the assessment showed that the WIGG members income from trade activity was

generally improving,variousfundingandpolicychangesremaintobeaddressed.These includethegenerally

verypoorfinancialcapacityoftheWIGGsandtheabsenceofreliablesourceofcreditfacility inBorenaarea.

TheaverageWIGGmembershipperiodofinformantsofthisassessmentwascalculatedat50monthsand45

monthsforthemembersoftheCAREbeneficiaryandcontrolWIGGstudiedrespectively.Thetotalamountof

moneyborrowedbymembersoftheCAREbeneficiaryandcontrolWIGGsduringtheseperiodswas41,555ETB

and36,420ETB,therefore,theaverageamountcollectedpermonthperwomanwas15.80ETBand13.25ETB

respectively.Inthisregard,thewomenexplainedtheimpactoftheinsufficientworkingcapitalontheirincome

fromtradeactivity.


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20|P a g e

6. GroupLoanandSavingsOperations

6.1. GroupSavings

AllWIGGsstartedtheirgroupengagementaroundtheloanandsavingsfunctionwithagreementsonmonthly

orweeklycontributionstoacommongroupfund.Thesefinancialschemesarecomparatively simpleandeasy

tohandle

without

prior

banking

knowledge.

What

is

required,

however,

is

diligent

recording

which

is

not

easy

for the women who are mostly illiterate. The other main planning obligation for the groups is to set up a

business plan and to decide on their group income earning activities. The returns of the group income

generatingactivities,thesavingsand intereston loansallservetobuildupthegroupscapital.Somegroups

possessimpressivecapitalresources.

The groups that started operations under outside interventions immediately adopted a fixed scheme that

consists of membership fee11

, share12

and monthly savings13

. The specific amounts of these individual

contributionsareagreeduponbythegroupmembersandvaryfromgrouptogroup.Table7givesanoverview

over the approximate amounts contributed by the women across different groups. Loans are typically paid

backintime.Veryfewcasesofbreachingtheloanandsavingsobligationwererecorded.Thebreachingofthe

agreementleadstoexpulsionfromthegroup.

Somewomengroupsagreedonverysmallmonthlysavingsamountsinitiallyandwereimpressedbytheeffect

thateventhesesmallsumswouldmakeintermsofaccumulatingfundsthatenablethemtotakeloansintimes

of need. Women acknowledged that the loan and savings scheme also taught them the value of regular

savings.

Table7:WIGGsavingsandgroupfundcontributions

Savingsandloancontributions Rangeofamountsgroupsagreedupon

Monthlysavings 310Birr

Registrationfee 2080Birr

Share 2080Birr

612monthsloan 10%interest

Source:PIA

results

6.2. LoansandthePurposeofLoansTaken

Morethantwothirdsofthewomenmemberstake loansfor individualpurposesfromtheirrespectiveWIGG

funds;namely68%and75%womenoftheCAREsupportedWIGGsandofthecontrolWIGGs,respectively.The

minimumamountborrowed hasbeen50ETBandthemaximumbetween4000and6000ETB. Theaverage

loanstakenbywomenofCAREandcontrolWIGGsoverthepast12monthsaredepictedinDiagram3.

ThewomenoftheCAREsupportedWIGGshaveborrowedanoverallaverageofabout742ETBandthewomen

of the control WIGG have borrowed an overall average of about 597 ETB. Women of the CARE supported

WIGGs

borrowed

considerably

more

money

for

petty

trade

purposes

(557

ETB

by

CARE

supported

WIGGscomparedto341ETBbythecontrolWIGGs).WomenoftheCAREsupportedWIGGsalsoborrowedmarkedly

more money for child education (104 ETB by CARE supported WIGGs compared to 13 ETB by the control

WIGGs).Womenofthecontrolgroupsborrowedmoremoneyfor foodpurchases,namelyabout163ETBas

opposedtoabout24ETBbytheCAREsupportedWIGGs.

11ThemembershipfeeispaidonceintothegroupfundandalsorequestedbytheCPO

12Theshareispaidintothegroupfundanddeterminestheindividualamountspaidoutintimesof

redistributionoffundstothemembers13

Afixedsumusuallypaidonamonthlybasis


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21|P a g e

Diagram3:AverageloanstakenbywomenofCAREgroups(N=56)andcontrolgroups(N=61)overthepast

12months

Source:PIAresults


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22|P a g e

7. CopingStrategiestoMitigatetheEffectsofDroughtAbouthalfoftheWIGGshaveadopteddroughtmitigationstrategies.Thesearecollectiveactionsdevisedby

thewomenof the groups to overcome the effectsofdrought. Eachgrouphaselaborated theirownspecific

activitiesrequiringtheallocationofdifferentfinancialandotherresources.Thecopingstrategiesarenotsimply

focusing on the wellbeing of the women and their families alone, but typically embrace the welfare of the

entirecommunity.

Themostdistinctactionsareasfollows:

TenheadofcattlearesustainedoveradroughtbytheconcertedeffortsandresourcesofaWIGG;

TheWIGGinitiatescollectivehaycollectionintheirlargercommunity;

Agroupdecidedtouseitssavingstopurchasewaterforpeopleandlivestock;

Agroupconstructstwowatercisternsforthemselvesandtheircommunity;

ThreegroupsdecidetopayofftheWIGGgroupsavingstoitsmembersforindividualpurchasesoffood

items.

ItisforemosttheWIGGsthataresuccessfullyengagedingroupincomegeneratingactivitiesanddemonstrate

tobe

well

organized

that

have

adopted

drought

mitigating

strategies.

Most

unconventional

is

the

decision

to

payoffgroupfundsinanemergency,asthisisnotpartofanytrainingadviceandnotaformalfunctionofthe

WIGG.Ithelpedsomefamiliestoavoidmigrationandhadastrongpositivelivelihoodimpactonthefamilies.

8. AgencyInterventionsinSupportofWIGGs

8.1. CARESupporttoWIGGs

Box3givesanoverviewoverthevarioustypesofsupporttheWIGGsreceivedfromCARE.Therearespecific

training sessions and organized crossvisits to other groups, both aiming to provide the knowledge and

experiencethatthewomenneedtobewellorganized,tomaintainproperloanandsavingsoperationsandto

successfullyengageintheirincomegenerating activities.

Mostofthegroupshadreceivedhaymakingtrainingandsomeformoftraininginsmallbusinessmanagement

and/orgrouporganizationand leadership. A fewgroups reported training in hides and skinspreservation.A

numberofWIGGshadreceivedsmallscaleequipmentformilkprocessingbutnogroupreportedtohaveused

it.Theyeithercomplainedthattherewasnomilkduetodroughtorthattheyhadnotbeengiventhetraining

thatwouldteachthemintheuseoftheequipment.CAREprojectstaffalsoassistsinlinkingtheWIGGstograin

traderswhenrequired.

CAREalsoassists inprovidingmaterial inputs,suchasconstructionmaterials for thebuildingofstoreand/or

office.Somegroupsalsoreportedtohavereceivedofficestationary,suchasbooksforrecordkeeping,stamps,

etc..Theinputsandsupportarenotdeliveredinauniformmanner,whichispartlyrelatedtothefactthatall

groupsarealsosupportedthroughtheCPO.CAREcollaborateswiththeCPOandmanyactivitiesarecarriedout

jointlyby

the

two

agencies.

Typically

the

CPO

provides

staff

and

trainers

and

CARE

provides

the

logistics

and

financialmeansrequiredforthetrainingorcrossvisits.

CAREalsogaveoutseedmoneytotheWIGGsinterviewed(seeAppendix3),butthishasonlyhappenedvery

recently.TheCAREseedmoneyhadbeentransferredtothegroupsbetweenJanuaryandJune2009.Fiveof

WIGGshadnotyetreceivedthemoneyatthetimeoftheassessment.


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23|P a g e

Box3:TrainingsandotherCAREinputs

Training: Provisionofconstructionmaterials:

Savingsandcredit Concrete,corrugatedironsheets,transport

Businessmanagement Provisionofofficestationarymaterials

Milkprocessing Seedmoney14

Hay

making

Hidesandskins

Source:PIAresults

8.2. OtherSupportingAgenciesandCAREProjectAttribution

Table8providestheresultsofasimpleinstitutional analysisintheformofthevenndiagramtechniquewhere

women identified CAREs and other agencies and institutions linkages and/or support to the WIGGs (a

scanned copyofavenndiagram isshown inbox4).The typesofagenciesnamesand theirrole isrelatively

straightforward.Groupsaresupportedbyasmallnumberofagenciesandinstitutions,foremostCAREandthe

CPO. In terms of perceived closeness and usefulness in support activities CARE holds the first position with

ranks1and

2.

The

CPO

is

equally

close

and

useful.

Some

groups,

however,

also

expressed

discontent

with

the

CPOintermsoftheirinfrequentvisitsanddemandforgroupregistrationfees.Crosscheckinginformationon

agencyinvolvementshowedthatthewomenwerenotalwaysabletocorrectlydifferentiatebetweenCPOand

CARE interventions. This is not surprising, given that both agencies collaborate closely at times, with CARE

providingfinancialandlogisticalinputswhileCPOsenttheirstafftocarryouttrainingandcrossvisits.

Box4:ScannedcopyofvenndiagramfromofagroupinYabello

Schoolshavebeenmentionedreflectingtheimportanceofliteracyinordertocarryoutrecordingtasks.Often,

the women rely on their children who go to school. Some women received brief instruction in reading and

writing,but

found

it

insufficient

to

actually

do

the

recording

themselves.

Trades

are

mentioned

in

recognition

oftheirroleinsupplyingthegoodsforthepettytrade,grainandlivestocktrade.Theyarenotconsideredclose

tothegroups,thoughsincethewomenfindtheirpricedemandsunfair.

WhiletheKebeleOffice isattimesperceivedashelpful,sincethewomenfindapersontheretoassist inthe

recoding, it isnotrankedhighly.Womenrelyontheofficeforadministrativepurposes,butsaidthattheydo

notfindthekindofsupporttheywouldhopetoget.

1415000ETBunderELSE,25000underRREADprojects


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Table8:RankingagenciesfortheirsupportanduseforWIGGs

Agency/InstitutionRankingPosition Inputsandbenefitsreceivedfromtheagency

CARE 1/2 Grouporganization,training,seedmoney, linkages, materials

CPO 2/1/5

Grouporganization,training,legalprocedures, recordkeeping,link

toCARE

School

3

Enablesdirectly/indirectly

record

keeping

HealthPost 4/3/2 Heightenedawarenessonhygieneandsanitation

Traders 3/5/6 Cattleandgraintrade

KebeleOffice 4/5 Recordkeeping,administrativesupport

Bank,Community/customers,RedCross

Source:PIAresults


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9. Discussion

9.1. TheAppropriatenessoftheParticipatoryImpactAssessment

Approach

This impact assessment was undertaken with the primary aim of identifying and measuring the impact on

livelihoodsof

women

participating

in

the

CARE

supported

WIGGs

in

Borana,

Southern

Ethiopia.

Prior

to

the

assessment a number of studies informed about the success of the CARE supported WIGGs. These have,

however,beenindividualaccountsornarrativesintheformofcasestudies.Aspecificemphasisofthepresent

assessment has thus been to use an approach that generates representative information, where possible

numerical,andstatisticallyvalidated.

The assessment approach therefore combined participatory appraisal techniques with a more conventional

surveycomponent.Theparticipatoryappraisal,mostlyintheformofgroupdiscussionssupportedbyanumber

of PRA tools, provides the indepth information necessary to understand the complex local livelihood

perspectiveofthewomenWIGGmembers.Thesurvey,ontheotherhand,usedaquestionnairetype inquiry

carried out with representative samples of women from CARE supported WIGGs and control WIGGs. In

addition,key informant interviewsandreviewsofsecondarysourcematerialsassistedtoelucidatethe larger

WIGGcontext

and

served

triangulation

purposes.

Theexpectations intothecombinedassessmentapproachhavebeen largelymet.Thegroupdiscussionswith

tenCAREsupportedWIGGsinBoranaproducedaclearpictureofthelivelihoodchangesthattookplacesince

thewomenparticipate in thegroups. Italsohelpedtogeneratetheunderstanding necessary toplace these

findings into its larger context. During the field work it became apparent, however, that much of the

quantitative data sought after would not be generated. Since the respondents were, with few exceptions,

illiterate women, many of whom newly ventured into small enterprise with little former experience. Their

understanding aboutconceptssuchasprofit,incomeandhouseholdassetswasveryvaried.Grouprecordsare

available about the members savings and loans, but not how these are utilized within the household.

However,thenumericaldatacollectedinthisassessmentcanservefuturestudiesasbaselinedata.

The

participatory

methodology

used

in

this

assessment

is

useful

and

highly

recommendable.

It

gives

the

womensufficientroomtoexpresstheirperceptionsandtoprovideexplanationstoplacelivelihoodchangesin

thelocalcontext.Itmustbenotedthatrelatedindicators,evenwhentheyareexpressednumericallyshouldbe

regarded rough estimates. The findings furthermore demonstrate that an approach that generates indepth

understanding attheexpenseofmorenumericalresults isappropriatethatatthispoint intime.Whilethere

have been monetary gains, the nontacit benefits dynamics leading to women empowerment are more

importanttothewomenatpresent.

Afollowupassessmentcanmakeuseofthedataasabaseline.However,itisrecommendedtoconsideraless

participatoryapproachbutemphasizethegatheringofmoredetailedhouseholddatainstead,ifitisaimedat

gainingabetterideaofaquantifiable impactathouseholdlevel.

9.2. Successesand

Challenges

of

the

Women

Income

Generating

Groups

The findings of the group discussions ascertain that the majority of CARE supported WIGGs are successfully

engaged ingroup income generatingactivities, foremostpetty trade,grain tradeand cattle fattening.About

70% of the WIGG members take small loans from the group funds for individual small enterprise and other

investmentsandexpenditures.

In comparison to the control groups, CARE supported WIGGs take up higher loans and utilize them more

frequentlytoinvestinchildeducationandpettytrade.WomenofCAREsupportedWIGGshavetakenupsmall

enterprise activities individually, benefit from the saving and loan services of the groups, and diversify their


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income, but changes in relative income are not significant. However, while differences in use of loans and

incomediversificationbetweentheCAREgroupsandthecontrolgroupsarenotsignificant,thePIAfoundthat

thewomenoffemaleheadedhouseholdsborrowedsignificantlyhigheramountsofmoneyfromtheirWIGGs

fortradepurposesthanthoseofmaleheadedhouseholds.Similarlytheproportionof incomeobtainedfrom

trade activities by the female headed households was significantly higher than that of the male headed

households. Gemetessa at al. (2005) show that a comparatively large number of households in Borana are

femaleheaded

households

(up

to

30%

in

some

areas)

and

that

these

households

are

disproportionally

more

often among the poor and destitute. This suggests that the WIGG approach that CARE implements has a

particularlystrongpositiveimpactonthemostvulnerablehouseholds.

Moreover,beforetheWIGGschemewasinitiatedincomefromsalesoffirewoodstoodsecondtoincomefrom

livestock, which accounted for 34.0% and 29.3% of the total household income respectively in the femla

headedhouseholds. FollowingtheWIGG initiativestheproportionofincomeobtainedfromsalesoffirewood

declinedfrom29.3%to25%astheirincomefromtradeactivityincreasedfrom10.5%to19%.Thepromotion

oftheWIGGinitiativehasnotonlyhadapositiveimpactontheincomeoffemaleheadedhouseholds,buthas

alsoreducedtheir levelofdependencyonsalesoffirewood,reducingrelatedrisksofenvironmentaldamage

andnaturalresourcedepletion.

Female

illiteracy

and

temporary

migration

caused

by

drought

and

conflict

are

important

challenges

for

theoperationoftheWIGGs.However,projectexperiencesofarhasshownthatthesechallengescanbeovercome.

Inthisregard,theCAREprojectstafffollowsastateoftheartparticipatoryapproachandfacilitatesthegroups

insteadofimposingparticularactivities.Nevertheless,thewomenneedadequatetraininginliteracyandbasic

calculus.Whiletechnicalandmanagementtrainingcomponentsarehighlyappreciated,theliteracyclassesare

consideredinsufficient.Asaresultthewomendependonoutsidehelp,mostcommonlytheirchildren,forthe

grouprecordingwhichcanonlybeatemporarysolution.

TheWIGGshavedemonstratedthattheywillreinitiategroupactivitiesafterthemembershavereturnedfrom

temporary migrations. There were no signs that temporary disruptions endanger the vitality of the groups.

Nevertheless, in order to make migration as little disruptive to the groups as possible, the WIGGs might be

advisedtotakeupmeasuresthatwillensureasmoothcontinuation oftheWIGGactivitiesafterthetemporary

break.These

could

be

stipulated

in

the

group

bylaws.

It

is

furthermore

important

to

note

that

strong,

well

organizedWIGGsdeviseinnovativestrategiestomitigatetheeffectsofdrought,asdiscussedinmoredetail in

the next chapter. Notably, the women groups show a vital concern for their community welfare and often

encourage the entire community to get involved in activities such as hay making or to contribute to water

preservation.

ThemostseverechallengethatjeopardizestheviabilityofanumberofWIGGsaffectsthosegroupsthatare

closely supervised by the Cooperative Promotion Office (CPO). The CPO tends to impose specific income

earningactivitiesonthegroupsorrushesthemtojoinintoformallagercooperativeunits,despitethegroups

lackoforganizationalcapacityforthatstep.WhilethecollaborativepartnershipbetweenCAREandtheCPOis

perceivedasmutuallyadvantageousandofimportantbenefittotheprojectparticipantsinthelongrun,both

agenciesoperatewithconflictingobjectives.TheCPOworksunderapolicydirectivethataimsatgraduatingas

manyWIGGs

as

quickly

as

possible

into

larger

units

of

cooperatives.

CARE

supported

groups

on

the

other

hand

are individually supported with the aim to promote the sort of group capacity building that ensures

sustainability and selfreliance of the WIGGs. While the certification of WIGGs under the CPO grants them

formal status and better access to financial capital, the push towards forming large formal WIGGs that can

quicklybe merged into cooperatives forms the single most importantchallenge for CAREsWIGG scheme at

present.IntheprocessofscalinguptheWIGGapproach,CAREwillhavetofindnewwaysofworkingwiththe

CPO and both agencies might have to redefine their roles and actions with regard to the CARE supported

WIGGs.


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9.3. TheRoleofSocialEmpowerment

ThePIAfindingssuggestthataverysignificantlivelihoodchangethatthewomenexperiencedthusfarisnon

economic and relates to a range of factors that contribute to women empowerment. Where the women

explained how they benefited from the WIGG membership, they emphasized a substantial increase in

knowledgeand selfesteem.Theypointedout that thecombinationof more knowledgeand experience and

enhancedsocialcohesionamonggroupmembersenhancestheirsocialempowermenttothedegreethatthey

are

now

invited

by

the

male

members

of

their

communities

to

participate

in

community

decisionmaking

processes.

Thesefindingsare in linewiththeoutcomesofearlierstudies inBorana(CARE/ELSE2008;Griffith2008)and

the more general expectations into the effect of such communitybased groups (Premchander 1994).

Experienceselsewhere inEthiopia(CAREnodate)andotherpartsofAfrica(IFAD1998)documentthatsocial

empowermentistypicallythefirstnoticeableandmostsubstantialpositivechangeinthelivesofwomenwho

participateinCBOsandsuccessfulgroupincomegeneratingactivities.

However,thefactthatwomenplace lessemphasisonmore tangible,economicbenefitsderived fromgroup

membership should not be interpreted as a shortcoming. In fact, the women explain that they regard their

empowermentandnewlygainedknowledgeasthebasisforpresentandfuturesuccessinsmallenterprise.In

addition,with

an

average

age

of

four

to

five

years,

most

CARE

supported

groups

are

still

comparatively

young.

Often,tangibleimpactisnotexpectedbeforegroupshavebecomefunctionalandsustainable,whichalonecan

beexpectedtotakethreeyears(PARIMA2008).

ThisoutcomeofthePIA isofparticularconsequence incorrectlyunderstandingthevalueofdifferent inputs

that CARE provides to the groups. While it has been suggested that financial capital is insufficient for the

WIGGstoallowmemberstoproperlyinvestinindividualsmallenterprise,theroleoftrainingandcrossvisitsis

evenmorehighlyappreciatedbythewomen.Thisisdoneonthebasisthatitprovidesthefoundationforany

business success. Social empowerment also enhances indirect impact of the WIGGs within the larger

community.WhileitmightbeadvisableforCAREtolookintoalternative optionsofprovidingthegroupswith

morefinancialcapital,attentionshouldnotshiftawayfromtrainingsandcrossvisits.Thelattershouldrather

bemaintainedifnotintensified.

9.4. State-of-the-artApproachestoWIGGsandthePastoralLivelihood

Context

Concerns have been voiced about the appropriateness of utilizing an approach that combines traditional

savingsandloangroupsandincomegeneratingactivitiesinthepastorallivelihoodcontextbecausemigration,

illiteracyand limitedmarketaccesshaveshowntoworkagainsttheseschemes.Contrarytothisexpectation,

thefindingsoftheassessmentdemonstratepositiveimpactoftheWIGGapproachonlivelihooddiversification,

theprimaryaimoftheCAREsupportedactivities.

The CARE approach that builds on facilitation rather than outside interference promotes strong WIGGs that

undertakewellplannedandwellorganizedgroupactivities.Anumberofgroupshave takenupnew ideas in

engaging

inincome

generating

activities

and

confidently

experiment

with

their

savings

and

loan

operations

therewithrespondingtolocalneeds.

TheexamplesofWIGGdroughtmitigationstrategiesandsuccessfulriskmanagementdescribed inthereport

demonstrate that the specific roles that WIGGs can play in the pastoral context are beginning to emerge.

Womenempowermentiscertainlyonekeyfeature.Moreover,thewomenshowagreatconcernnotonlyfor

their own and their family wellbeing, but for that of their entire communities. The stronger, wellorganized

groups initiate theirowndroughtcopingstrategies,butalsoensure that the largercommunitygetsengaged

andwouldalsobenefitfromtheactivities. Oftenthiswouldinvolveencouragementofcommunitymembersto


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preserve hay; or as in one case the construction of cisterns sufficiently large to store water for the whole

village. The combination of hay storage and disbursements of group capital to members for food purchases

during a prolonged drought enabled WIGG families to avoid migration. The women considered this a major

livelihoodimprovement.

Womenareparticularlyencouragedby theirabilitytomakemonthlysavingsandutilizesmall loans fortheir

enterprise and households needs. While the conventional idea behind the loan and savings function of the

group is primarily to enable women small enterprises, the WIGG women members have devised ways to

directlyutilizethemfortheirhouseholdneeds15

. Asmentionedabove,periodicdisbursements ofgroupfunds

intimesofneedduringadroughtimplyakeyfunctionofgroupsavingsandotherincomegeneratingactivities

inthepastorallivelihoodcontext.Thissignifiesalocalcapacitythatintegrateswellwiththenationalsafetynet

program.

The proportional piling of livestock indicators showsa decrease in the importance of livestock assets.While

theseresultsmustnotbeoveremphasizedduetothemethodologyutilized,thefindingsshowthatasleastfor

women the small capital reserve with the WIGG substitutes for investments in livestock. For the women

livestockisamorefunctional commoditythatasocialandcapitalasset.

The findings of the impact assessment underline the importance to maintain a stateoftheart approach in

supportofWIGGs.ThishasearlierbeendemonstratedbyPARIMA,whopioneeredtheIGAapproachinBorana

(PARIMA 2008) und is further established by the observations of this study. Interviews with CARE staff and

observations during the assessment confirmed that CARE pursues such stateoftheart approach, which

revolves around the organic growth of the WIGGs. A realistic timeframe for facilitating sustainable, self

reliantandconfidentgroupslooksatgrowthcyclesthatspantwotothreeyearperiods.

Moreover,imposingspecificpresetIGAschemes,asoftenexercisedbytheCPO,iscounterproductive. These

schemesarepartlydevisedwithgreatconcernfor localcommunitywelfareandare in linewithotherpublic

policy objectives such as better market access and improving physical infrastructure. Nevertheless, some of

theseobjectivesarehighlypoliticized,eitherimposingthesettlementofpastoralistsorinsistingontheirmobile

lifestyle.ThetendencytouseWIGGsforthesepoliticizedpurposesisratherobvious.WhereWIGGsarenotleft

to engage in activities that they perceive feasible but are rushed into politically favored schemes, they will

soonerorlatercollapse.CAREwillhavetofindwaystoensurethattheresourcesitinvestsintotheWIGGsdo

notcometowasteasaresult.

9.5. WIGGsstriveunderCARESupportandContributionsofother

AgenciesthatcreateanoverallEnablingEnvironment

At present CARE supports the WIGGs in a highly competent manner and employs sufficient resources to

facilitatethegroupsindividuallyonaonebyonebasis.Staffencouragesandguidesratherthandominatesand

prescribestheWIGGorganizationandactivities.Othernongovernmentalorganizationsintheareaalsoutilize

WIGGsimilar approaches with partially differing objectives, emphasizing outcomes such as natural resource

preservationandconflictresolution.However,thereislimiteddirectedcollaborationbetweentheseagencies.

Inafew instancesforexamplewithgroupsunderSavetheChildrensupport inotherpartofthecountry

crossvisitsarefeasibleandhavebeenjointlyorganized.Thefinancialandotherrelatedassistancethatflowsto

CAREsupportedWIGGscomesexclusivelyfromCARE.Thelargerpartofthisassistanceisprovidedintheform

oftrainingcoursesandcrossvisitsfollowedbyseedmoneythatisinjectedingroupsofsufficientcapacity.

15Exemplaryforthisistherationalofonewomenwhoexplainedhowsheutilizesaloan.Shetakes1000ETB

andbuysamattressfor300ETBforherchildandaheadofcattlefor700ETB.Shefattensthecattleandsellsit

for1200ETB.Shepaysbacktheloanwithinterest(1100ETB)andstillremainswith100ETBforotherpurposes.


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29|P a g e

The WIGGs are also embedded in a larger environment of government support and institutional change.

Foremost,theWomensAffairsOfficehasbeenactive inpromotingwomensrights.Theawarenessthathas

arisen out of these campaigns is very noticeable among the women. Girls education is more frequent and

highlypraisedbytheBoranawomenwhoarealsomoreassertivewhenitcomestotheirownchangingroleand

status.Inthisrespect,theWIGGsprovidethemeanstoengageinwomengroupactivitiescomejustattheright

timetogivemomentumtotheopportunitiesopeningupforwomen.However,littlecanbeinferredatpresent

aboutthe

dynamic

social

change

and

it

is

necessary

to

remain

observant

that

not

put

too

much

pressure

on

the

communitiestoundergorapidsocialchange.

As mentioned above, the close collaboration with the CPO, which is fundamentally a very positive

development, is controversial. To achieve and maintain larger impact and systemic capacity building, it is

withoutquestionnecessaryforCAREtonotonlysupporttheWIGGsbutalsothegovernmentadministration

thatworkswiththeWIGGs.The leadingofficehere istheCPO.Therelatedgovernmentpolicy isto increase

productivityandmarketaccessinBoranaasinotherpartsofthecountryviacooperativeschemes.Asaresult

communitiesareorganizedintogroupsandsubsequently intocooperativesandtheCPOis inchargetoguide

andstreamlinetheseactivities.CAREwillneedtofindwaystomorestronglyadvocateitspropoorvisionand

approach,especiallyfordisadvantagedgroups,whereemploymentofcooperativeschemesispremature.

10. Recommendations

10.1. OptionsforScaling-upandtheRoleofCARE

ThepositiveimpactofWIGGsonthelivelihoodsofparticipatingwomenjustifiesscalingupoftheseactivities,

especiallyinthepastoralistlivelihoodcontext.

CAREwillhavetofindamodusoperandiwithitssecondmainpartnerbesidesthewomen,namelytheCPO,to

freelyimplementitspropoorapproachinsupportofWIGGactivities.Partofthesolutionistokeepafocuson

disadvantaged andmoreremotecommunities, toclarifyrespectiveagencyroles,andtoensurethatgroupsare

notrushedintocooperativeschemes.

Wh

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