Pastoralism is a rational, adaptable, tried and tested production system uniquely suited to therndlY lands. Pastoralism occupies a quarter of the world area, which is predominantly arid andrnsemiarid. Pastoralism developed autonomously across the world's dry lands ji-om some 7000rnyears ago. It is still widely practiced today and remains a dominant jeature of rural east AFicanrnin which most household sustain their means of living ji'om keeping domestic livestock. The aridrnand semi-arid areas of Ethiopia, which covers 61 % of the land area of the country, are homesrnfor millions of pastoralists of diverse ethnic groups. The Karrayu Oromo of Eastern shewa Zonernare among the ethnic groups those practicing pastoralism under marginal condition and highrnproduction risk because of the natural and different manmade factors; in which drought is thernmajor serious natural hazard and is continuously threatening the lives and livelihood ofrnpast ora lists.rnThis study was conducted in Fentale Woreda of Eastern Shewa Zone with the objectives ofrninvestigating the patterns of drought and community responses in the Fentale Pastoral Woredarnof Oromia Region. To conduct this study, a total of 134 purposely sampled households, focusrngroup discussion participants, some individual case studies, knowledgeable key informantrninterviews and secondQ/y data sources were used.rnThejinding of the study indicates that in the present day, especially, post 2002; the pattern of therndrought in the Fentale Woreda is distorted ji-om its past normal cycle. In the present day,rndrought cycle is shortened, drought is occurred every year or every other year and the severityrnof drought is extremely increased. The increase in frequency and severity of drought has posedrnmulti- dimensional adverse effects on the Karrayu pastoralists' livelihood sources. /t causedrnextinction of pasture ji-om the rangelands, dried up water points; unusually caused break out ofrnnew and existed human, livestock and plant pests and diseases, declined household livestockrnholding size; reduced production, productivity and reproduction of livestock; and has resulted inrnchronic food insecurity. As a result, in the present day, pastoral mode of life of Karrayurnpastoralists ' are in a continuumjluxes.rnIn the present day, Karrayu pastoralists have been practicing a set of pastoral and non pastoralrnactivities as response mechanisms to mitigate the adverse effects of severe drought that isrnaggravated by the recent climate change. An extent of household responses towards bothrnpastoral and non pastoral activities are varied, in which the household characteristics,rnspecifically, wealth in terms of livestock holding is the decisive factors for the engagement of thernhousehold in anyone or more of a set of productive activities/response mechanisms! It is foundrnthat there are various natural and manmade factors that are challenging response mechanismsrnthat are undertaken by Karrayu pastoratists ' to mitigate the adverse effects of severe droughtrnthat is aggravated by climate change. Hence, designing of holistic (multidisciplinary whichrncomprise pastoral and non pastoral activity and people centered) development approach is arndecisive factor in order to build an appropriate response capacity at a local level to mitigate thernadverse effects of drought and to develop adaptation to drought/ climate change/in a sustainablernand sound full manner instead of taking only sedenteray agriculture as a sole jinal option inrnresponses that is undertaken to drought