Women empowerment through helabojun food courts: an evaluation of livelihood outcomes

Helabojun concept was originated and organized in an institutional level by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to develop business incubators for women and promote consumption of healthy food and beverages prepared using local raw materials employing traditional culinary methods. Food courts offer a range of local foods and drinks at affordable prices with ensured safety under one shelter. Objective of this study was to measure livelihood outcomes attained by women through engagement in Helabojun food courts using Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF). A Livelihood Outcome Index (LOI) was developed to measure livelihood outcomes and a correlation analysis was done between livelihood outcomes and household characteristics. Paired sample T test was employed to compare mean income before and after engagement in Helabojun food courts. Primary data collected from 137 women workers at five Helabojun food courts were used for the analysis. The results show that 46%, 30% and 24% of the women have achieved high, moderate and low livelihood outcomes respectively. Family size, years of schooling, years of experience and working days per month were positively correlated with the livelihood outcomes attained by the women at p≤0.05. The study concluded that women’s livelihood outcomes have noticeably been improved by Helabojun food court and household characteristics of the women are supportive for improving livelihood outcomes such as income, saving, household amenities, education, health, food pattern, sanitation, social interaction and access to credit. The study recommended women to begin their own food court to sustain household well-being after finishing their training at Helabojun food courts.