Background (problem statement): - Selling local beverages like Araki, Teji and Tella byrnfemales is of back long and widely practiced activity in Ethiopia in general and in most townsrnof Gojjam in particular. And some of these females are practicing commercial sex with theirrnbeverage customers most of whom are farmers presumably with low awareness level towardsrnHIV/AIDS compared to urban people. It is assumed that commercial sexual transactionrnbetween these females and farmers play significant role for the steadily growing rate of HIVrntransmission to the rural area.rnObjective: To assess the status of commercial sex among local beverage selling females andrnto identify their risk perception towards HIV/AIDS and condom use in selected Gojjamrntowns.rnMethods: a cross sectional survey assisted by focus group discussion (FGD) was conductedrnon 354 randomly selected local beverage sellers in Debre Markos, Dembecha and FinoternSelam towns from March 3 â€“ March 10, 2007. A pre-coded, pre-tested and structuredrnquestionnaire was used for the quantitative method and FGD was conducted in the threerntowns for the qualitative method.rnResults: Fifty nine percent of the studied local beverage selling females (LBSFs) were olderrnthan 35 years and all of them were above 15 yeas old at the time of interview. About 46 % ofrnthe respondents were illiterates. More than one-forth of the females studied were marriedrnbefore 10 years old, 76 % of them before 18 years old and most (72.3 %) females had nornknowledge and consent of their first marriage.rnOut of the studied 354 LBSFs, 38.7 % (n=137) have ever practiced commercial sex workrn(CSW) of which 28.5 % (n=39 of the 137 ever practicing CSWs) have interrupted it at therntime of interview and 27.7 % (n=98) are still practicing.rnviiirnEducational status before local beverage selling, duration of engagement in local beveragernselling, age and lack of additional means of income other than local beverage selling havernpositive significant associations with engagement to commercial sex work.rnFamily, marriage and other socio-economic factors before being engaged in local beveragernselling are found to be statistically significant factors for commercial sexual engagement.rnNinety nine percent of the study participants and especially 100 % of the FSW participantsrnhave knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Sixty five percent of the respondents have described all thernthree basic programmatically important prevention methods (Abstinence, Be faithful and usernCondoms consistently).rnThirty eight percent of the participants have comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Butrn39.6 % of them had at least one misconception (incorrect belief) about HIV transmission.rnTwenty nine percent of the interviewed females have ever been tested for HIV of which 88 %rnhave taken their results.rnAbout 43 % of the studied females have moderate/high and 55.8 % have nil/low riskrnperception towards HIV infection based on their past risk behaviors.rnEighty eight percent of the studied LBSFs (100 % of FSWs) and 63 % of them havernknowledge of male condoms and have ever used it respectively. And 65.8 % of the FSWsrnwho have ever used male condoms have used it during their recent sexual contact with theirrnixrnpaying clients. With in 30 days prior to the day of interview, about half of the commercial sexrnpracticing LBSFs studied have used condoms persistently.rnConclusion and recommendation: several family, marriage and other socio-economicrnrelated factors before being engaged in local beverage selling are observed playing significantrnroles for LBSFs to start commercial sex work. And there is high level of unprotectedrncommercial sexual transaction between these CSWs and farmers and other rural communityrnmembers aggravating the speed of dissemination of HIV infection to the rural Ethiopia. Thesernsituations need due attention and rapid remedial intervention by joint efforts of the localrngovernment, civil societies and the community itself