Financial strain often forces families to think of new ways to generate income. Poultry farming is one option Kiunga project officers encourage support group members to pursue, but without the technical know-how many fear venturing into this endeavor.
That’s why Kiunga links support groups to extension officers from the Government of Kenya (GOK) who can train them on a wide variety of topics. Last year, project officers arranged for experts from the Ministry of Agriculture to visit Mwenda-Antu (which means “Loving People”) to provide training on poultry management skills.
Aileen Kawira, a member of Mwenda-Antu Support Group, was intrigued by what she learned but didn’t have the capital to acquire the chickens and materials she would need to begin rearing poultry. Her group participates in voluntary saving and loaning, so she borrowed a loan from the group to put up a poultry structure, but still lacked the funds to buy the chickens.
Our project officers saw the gap and Kiunga supported the members of Mwenda-Antu with two chicks each. Aileen was excited to get started rearing her chicks.
Taking what she learned from the extension officers, Aileen was able to quickly increase her flock, and sell some of them for a profit.
Aileen says: “Right now, I have about 20 chickens, which I’m looking to sell. One chicken will go up to even 1,000 shillings.” (That’s about $7 US.)
With the proceeds, Aileen has been able to start a grocery shop and pay the school fees for her three children!
Aileen attributes her success to the GOK extension officers who provide her with vital information, take her to other farms for demos and supervise her chicken-rearing project.
“Thank you, Kiunga, for bringing us together and opening our eyes to see opportunities.”
- Aileen Kawira
The fee Kiunga pays for an extension officer to visit a group to provide training on a specific area, like poultry rearing, is just $19. You can join us this month in helping to cover these costs by making a gift today!