The Main Biosys Gurara Women’s Development Cooperative project, running under the auspices of the College of Development Studies of the Addis Ababa University, located in Yeka Sub-city benefited thirty senior women of low income.

The project encompasses women in menial jobs including the sale of fire wood, baking Injera and washing of clothes.

The project consists of poultry farm, dairy farm, and vegetable production.

The project’s mission is to assist economically underprivileged women, improve their well-being and make the site a research center for environmental management.

Dilu Shaleka (Ph.D.), Dean of the College of Development Studies, and staff members visited the project site on May 31, 2017.

Speaking on the visit, Principal investigator, Belay Simene (Ph.D.) stated that the goal of the initiative is to support low income women of the sub-city with financial and technical assistance.

“Apart from its economic benefits, the project is also academically advantageous as it serves as a center for teaching and researching environmental management,” added the investigator.

“The manure from animals provides a good source of organic matter for improving soil fertility used in vegetable production. In the future, there is a plan to develop a bio gas plant from dung which will be used as fuel for cooking,” said the principal investigator.

At its full operational capacity, the farm can generate over 470 thousand birr annually.

Commending AAU for its financial and technical assistance, the women also said “the project has lifted our income up and has changed our lives; we all survived on tedious jobs that paid a little.”

The project was launched with a total cost of four hundred eighty thousand birr donated by the European Union.