Small Coop, Big Dreams: From Sheep Farming Struggles to Poultry Success in Addis Ababa

In Gulele, one of Addis Ababa’s busy places, the sound of chickens clucking fills the air of a narrow backyard. Stacked wooden cages teeming with hens rise in tiers, a miniature vertical farm tucked between city houses. Here, 28-year-old Elias Fesese tends to his flock, collecting nearly 400 fresh eggs each day. It’s a surprising scene in the middle of a dense urban neighborhood. Yet this small plot, ingeniously transformed into an egg-producing oasis, has become a vital source of food and income for Elias’s family and a beacon of inspiration for his community.

Elias’s first attempt at farming in the city – raising sheep – was short-lived. "I tried raising sheep in the city, but it was much harder than I expected," Elias recalls. With limited space in the crowded capital and no grazing areas, keeping sheep quickly proved impractical. He struggled as the animals became ill and feed costs mounted, and before long he had to abandon that venture. For a time, Elias was left questioning his future and how he would ever earn a decent income in the city.

He began his career path far from agriculture – as an electrical building graduate. Like many young graduates in Ethiopia, however, he struggled to find a job in his field. “I applied everywhere, but opportunities were scarce,” he recalls. Unemployment among youth is a common challenge in Ethiopia’s cities, where thousands of new graduates enter the workforce each year, only to find few openings in their professions. Rather than give up, Elias decided to chart a new course with the skills and resources he had at hand.

Instead of feeling defeated, Elias saw an opportunity to try something different. Chickens, he thought, would be easier to manage in the city. They required less space and could be sheltered more securely. Using the money from selling his sheep, Elias bought 30 young chickens to start a small poultry farm in his backyard. He didn’t stop there, determined to do it right, he also invested in knowledge. Elias traveled to a town 40 kilometers away called Dukem to attend a poultry farming training course. For several weeks, he learned the basics of chicken rearing, from proper feeding and housing to disease prevention. Armed with this training and a new sense of purpose, Elias prepared to relaunch his farming venture, this time with eggs in mind.

Back in Addis Ababa, Elias wasted no time putting his new knowledge into practice. With guidance from the project’s experts, he prepared a corner of his compound to house chickens, improvising with the materials he had. To make the most of his cramped yard, Elias built a tall, multi-level cage system so he could keep many birds without needing much ground area. 

"Space is expensive in the city, so I built my coop up instead of out," he explains, pointing to the tiers of wire mesh enclosures he constructed. 

Soon, with support from EOC-DICAC, Elias and a small group of fellow trainees received a starter kit for their poultry venture: dozens of improved-breed pullets about to start laying, sacks of chicken feed, and essential equipment like feeders and water dispenser. 

This infusion of resources was exactly what Elias needed to get his business off the ground. He diligently cared for the young hens, applying the practices he’d learned to keep them healthy and productive. 

Within a few months, his once-empty yard had transformed into a bustling mini-farm full of clucking hens and the soft rustle of feathers. “I had to fit dozens of chickens into my little compound, so I designed my own stacked cages,” Elias explains proudly. “Going upward instead of outward made all the difference space was no longer a problem." The tiered cages allow him to raise many chickens in a limited area, maximizing productivity from his family tiny backyard. By stacking the hens’ living space vertically, Elias keeps his poultry secure, healthy, and efficient, an innovation that has turned a once-unused corner of his yard into a thriving mini farm.

The caging system kept the chickens safe, clean, and productive. Egg output grew as the hens settled into their new high-rise home. Neighbors, initially skeptical, began to notice how many eggs Elias’s hens were laying and how little space was needed. Before long, people from the neighborhood started coming by to see the curious sight of an urban egg farm in action. Elias even began building additional cage setups for others, selling custom-made poultry cages to local farmers. 

His small backyard experiment was becoming a recognized innovation. It caught the eye of local authorities as well, the district agriculture office in Gulele took note of Elias’s success and saw potential in expanding this idea to help more youth and families in the area.

Impressed by his ingenuity, local officials introduced Elias to a program run by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s development wing, the EOC-DICAC (Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission), with support from Oxfam. This partnership focuses on empowering aspiring entrepreneurs in urban agriculture. For Elias, it was a perfect match. Through DICAC, he received additional training that took his poultry knowledge to the next level – learning about vaccine schedules to prevent diseases in chickens, improved feed and growth systems, and business skills for managing and marketing his eggs. “The training opened my eyes to more efficient ways of raising chickens,” he says. “I learned how to vaccinate my chickens and keep them much healthier, which means better production

It didn’t take long for Elias’s hard work to pay off. Within the first year of raising chickens, Elias and his friends began selling trays of fresh eggs to neighbors and local shops.

Starting from 2022, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC) in partnership with Oxfam, has supported communities in Addis Ababa by promoting urban agriculture. The joint initiative, titled Improving the Livelihood of Rural Migrants and Informal Producers in Addis Ababa through Urban Agriculture, provided comprehensive support, including specialized training, essential farming inputs, and innovative agricultural techniques such as drip irrigation and vertical farming. Through capacity-building, mentorship, and targeted interventions in poultry, vegetable production, and beekeeping, the project has significantly enhanced local incomes, nutrition, and food security, reaching over 2,791 beneficiaries, the majority being women and youth.

Each day, he gathers dozens of eggs that he can sell, a far cry from the uncertainty he faced in the past. The modest space behind his house has become a bustling micro-farm and a source of reliable income for Elias.

Today, Elias Fesese’s urban farm is thriving beyond what he once imagined. His hundreds of chickens collectively produce around 395 eggs each day – nearly 13 dozen daily. Over the course of a month, that adds up to roughly 12,000 eggs. 

By selling these fresh eggs in local markets and to his neighbors, Elias earns about 142,000 Ethiopian birr (1,054.59 USD) in gross income per month. After covering his expenses for feed, electricity, and upkeep of the coop, his net earnings average 43,000 birr (319.35 USD) per month. To put this into perspective, this income is several times higher than what many formal entry-level jobs pay in Ethiopia. The financial stability has been transformational for Elias and his family. 

Elias expresses gratitude, highlighting the tangible impacts of his success: “I've managed to provide my sister with a better education and support my family in ways I once thought impossible.” Elias hasn’t given up on his own education either. While running the farm, he set aside time and money to continue developing his professional skills. He has enrolled in a course on sanitary building construction, tying back to his engineering background. His goal is to one day combine his knowledge of construction and sanitation with his farming enterprise perhaps to improve hygiene in poultry housing or to venture into a side business of building safe, sanitary facilities in his community. “Urban farming gave me the means to pursue my other dreams,” he says. “I can invest in myself now while my business continues to grow.”

Elias’s success has also transformed how others see him. "Some people thought I was foolish to raise chickens here at first," Elias says, remembering the skepticism he faced. Neighbors who once doubted, or even laughed at the idea of an urban chicken farmer are now some of his best customers. Many come to him regularly to buy eggs, and some have even asked him for advice on starting their own poultry coops. What was once considered an odd venture is now a source of pride for Elias and an inspiration for others in his neighborhood.

He has started providing basic training sessions to other aspiring farmers in Addis Ababa – teaching them how to vaccinate chickens (using the skills he learned through DICAC), how to formulate affordable feed mixtures, and how to construct their own stacked coops. On weekends, he sometimes travels to nearby districts to help vaccinate chickens for other small farmers, a service that has earned him gratitude and a small additional income. “I’m happy to help others start their own farms,” he says. “If our community produces more of its own food, we all benefit.”

Ongoing Challenges

Despite his progress, Elias knows that running a small poultry farm in the city comes with ongoing challenges. One major hurdle is market instability. The demand and price for eggs can fluctuate from month to month, and there have been times when an oversupply in the market forced prices down. "Some weeks, the price of eggs drops so low that I barely break even," he admits. Additionally, the cost of chicken feed tends to rise unpredictably, which squeezes his profit margins.

Another challenge is space. Elias has pushed the limits of his tiny plot with the multi-tiered cages, but he simply cannot expand his flock much further in the same area. There is no room to build more coops, and overcrowding could risk the chickens’ health. Limited space also means he must manage waste and odors carefully to keep the operation neighbor friendly. These constraints remind Elias that while he has achieved a lot in a small area, scaling up will require creative solutions or perhaps a move to a bigger site in the future.

Standing amid the clucking of his hens at dawn, Elias allows himself to think about the future. He has come a long way, but he has even bigger dreams. “My ultimate dream is to expand this poultry business into a significant enterprise,” he shares confidently. “I want to build a comfortable home for my family, establish a strong foundation for my future marriage, and continue to grow this business so I can help even more community members.”

One of his goals is to expand beyond his current backyard farm. "I want to keep growing this business one day I hope to have a bigger farm, maybe even outside the city," he says with a hopeful smile. Elias envisions acquiring or accessing more land where he can raise a larger flock of chickens without the constraints he faces now. With a larger farm, he could increase production, hire a few workers, and supply eggs to bigger markets or even restaurants in Addis Ababa.

Beyond expanding his own enterprise, Elias also hopes to pay forward the support he received. He often shares tips with other young people in his community who are interested in urban farming. He dreams of a future where more youth in the city can turn small plots into productive farms, just as he did. "The support I got changed my life," Elias says. "I want others to have the same chance to improve their lives through farming."

As he cares for his chickens each morning, Elias is filled with a sense of purpose and optimism. What began as a desperate attempt to make ends meet has grown into a thriving livelihood. And for Elias Fesese, the journey is just beginning proof that with determination, some help, and a little creativity, even a small city coop can hatch big dreams.