Research Article Open Access Tessema et al., Fish Aquac J 2013, 4:1 DOI: 10.4172/2150-3508.1000082 Research Article Open Access Volume 4 • Issue 1 • 1000082 Fish Aquac J ISSN: 2150-3508 FAJ, an open access journal Keywords: Amrach; Mattress; Santie Introduction Most developing countries depend heavily on the exploitation of its natural resources, especially biological resources. Most of these resources are found among very poor rural communities whose livelihood depends solely on the exploitation of these resources. Sustainable conservation and development depend heavily on strengthening the capacity of local individuals and communities to implement conservation initiatives [1]. One of such natural resources is aquatic plants that support the livelihoods of rural communities. Te fve main uses of aquatic plants are for medicines, food for humans, animal feed, ornamental or horticultural use, and as a source of non-medicinal chemicals. A signifcant number of plants have also been used for making handicrafs and household goods, and as construction and structural materials [2]. In northern Africa, wetland vegetation can provide source of income to local people through the production and selling of household items, various utensils and craf products for sale to customers including tourists [3]. Wild aquatic plants are also valued locally as medicines, foodstufs (such as tea, salads and spices) or construction materials for thatching and hedging. Wetlands in Ethiopia have diferent socio-economic values. Tese include supply of food crops through agriculture by draining and recession, important sites for dry season grazing, resource extraction, raw materials supply, fsh harvesting, source of medicinal plants and sites for tourist attraction and various traditional ceremonies. Tey are also part of the rural people’s economy as they traditionally play an important role through the provision of water, and other materials, for both humans and livestock (EWNRA, 2001). Despite the benefts gained from wetlands they are under threat from the conversion of wetlands for intensive irrigation, the expansion of human settlements, industrial pollution, agricultural pollution by pesticides, use of fertilizers, water diversion for drainage and the construction of dams [4]. It has been reported that Chefa wetland is one of the wetland in Amahara Region that support large number of bird species next to lake Awass. Chefa wetland in Chefa valley and Kemisse area refuges to 50,000 Afar and Oromo pastoralists and 200,000 animals (Gutema, 2003). Te local people are getting beneft from irrigation in dry season, fshery, source of feed and water for their cattle, collection of plants for making roofs of houses, mattress, used for fattened oxen transportation mechanisms to prevent sliding and cermonial purposes. Although some studies were conducted on Chefa wetland, studies on importance of Typha latifolia and Cyperus plant species for making mattresses and supporting the livelihoods were lacking. Tis study on socio-economic importance of mattresses made of Typha latifolia and Cyprus species of Chefa wetland is vital to show policy makers and planners to what extent these plants are contributing for livelihood of the poor, mainly women in Amrach and Santie Villages in Kemissie town to propose sustainable utilization of these resources and improve their income. *Corresponding author: Assefa Tessema, Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Wollo University, Ethiopia, Tel: 251921529218; E-mail: atecklie@yahoo.com Received September 06, 2013; Accepted November 21, 2013; Published December 20, 2013 Citation: Tessema A, Abdurohman N, Goudar KS (2013) Mattress Making Using Typha latifolia and Cyprus Species of Chefa Wetland in Kemissie, Ethiopia: A Means for Livelihood Improvement. Fish Aquac J 4: 082. doi: 10.4172/2150- 3508.1000082 Copyright: © 2013 Tessema A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract The survey was conducted in May 2012 at Amrach and Santie villages in Kemissie. The objectives of the study were to assess challenges and opportunities of people involved in mattress production and their level of knowledge for sustainable utilization of Typha latifolia and Cyprus species from Chefa wetland. The villages were selected purposely and a total of 60 households were selected for interview randomly, 30 from each villages. In addition to questionnaires Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) was used. The average age of mattress makers were 37 and 31 at Amrach and Santie respectively. Majority of the mattress makers, 76.7% at Amrach and 60% at Santie were female that indicate the profession has signifcant contribution for livelihood especially for women. The average monthly production of mattress at Amrach was higher (86) than Santie (23) because most of the people involved in mattress production at Amrach have no other livelihood means unlike the people at Santie. The average net income from mattress was 928 and 227 for Amrach and Santie respectively. There is high demand for mattress market at Kemissie, Dessie and Haik, however there is shortage of these raw materials, Typha latifolia and Cyprus species used for making mattress due to the presence of high demand by different stakeholders, pastoralists specially in dry season used as feed for their animals, making their shelter, the local people used for ceremonial purpose and making shelter. As the result the people involved in mattress production are forced to go more than 10 kilo meter per day to collect these plants and hence produce less mattresses per month and hence low income. Therefore awareness creation training should be given for stakeholders to promote sustainable utilization of these plants collected from Chefa wetland and improving income of mattress makers. Mattress Making Using Typha latifolia and Cyprus Species of Chefa Wetland in Kemissie, Ethiopia: A Means for Livelihood Improvement Assefa Tessema*, Nuria Abdurohman and KS Goudar Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Wollo University, Ethiopia F i s h e r i e s a n d A q u a c ul t u r e J o u r n a l ISSN: 2150-3508 Fisheries and Aquaculture Journal