Hi Emmanuel-

I have been reading through the information you have posted and was wondering if you could provide some additional information about the poultry enterprise that you are currently working on. Are the chickens boilers? for eggs? breeding to sell?

Is food typically grown for the chickens or purchased? Are you looking toward expanding and developing the poultry business first, or looking toward other options?

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for joining Wakitaka. Well about the poultry enterprise, the chickens are broilers. The food for the broilers is just purchased from the nearby town of Jinja. We are looking forward to both expanding and developing the poultry business or if Neighbors have something else that they think can help the youth out of poverty other than poultry, then well and good!!

We really want the Neighbors to suggest different sources of income for the youth which we can build on otherwise Poultry may be also part of the projects.

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya

Hi all Neighbors,

I take this opportunity to wish you all a merry X-mas, a happy and prosperous new year. It is my prayer that The Almighty God takes you through this festive season with true happiness.

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya
(Uganda)

Hi Emmanuel-

I wanted to share this resource with you because I think it may help you in further defining your project with the help of local community members. It contains multiple resources, trouble-shooting guides and different approaches that you could consider for identifying the type of project(s) that should be focused on in your community.

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/solveproblem/

I would really recommend if you have not already done so, arrange a meeting with the youth themselves and others in the community. You can use the guidelines to brainstorm ideas and then post that information here. I think it is difficult for people around the world to truly understand the local situation and offer suggestions related to employment because they may or may not be applicable to your situation, but with more input from the local community members I think it will be easier.

Take a look through the toolbox first and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas-

Jennifer

Hi Emmanuel,

Howis Wakitaka and Jinja Town, I was in Jinja in 2006. From reading Jennifer's email I agree that discussions should be held as to what could be achieved in the village by the youth and what they want to undertake.

Below are some discussion points of projects that have been successful elsewhere and could act as starting points for discussion.

http://www.networklearning.org/content/view/128/42/

http://www.friedkinfund.org/what_we_do/Community_Development/Income_Gene...

I will continue to source out other examples.

Thanks

Andy

Hi Neighbors,

Greetings from Jinja, and especially my Village .Andy and Jennifer, Thanks so much for your contributions!! I guess you had a wonderful festive season! Well, the youths are more interested in Livestock and poultry farming. Livestock farming that includes especially cross bred goats that are fast growing. At a moment, they would prefer to associate with the above projects.

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya

Hi Emmanuel-

Happy New Year! It sounds like the youth have already done some research about what they want to do. If goats and poultry are the things that they believe would be most successful, I would suggest developing a business plan around those ideas. I know you've already started with the chickens, has anyone started with goats? Are these goats used for milk?

Have the youth formed any type of cooperative farming group?

All the best-

Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

Happy new year too! Well the goats mature so fast, and since there breeding rate is high (i.e Two months after giving birth,a goat can be ready to produce again. Within one and half years, it is capable of producing two times since the gestation period of a goat is 5 months). Therefore goat rearing can be a very good project for income generating in the village. There is also easy access to fresh grass that the goats can be fed on. Currently there is no one who has began with goats in the village.

For poultry, there is a very high demand for poultry products all over the country. For example 1 chicken during this festive season was costing within the range of 6000 to 8000 Ushs depending on the location.Therefore there is no doubt that the poultry products have market within Uganda.

We have not yet formed a cooperative farming group in the village. We only have small groups of youth who have set up poultry rearing. Currently the few youth groups are thinking twice whether to continue with poultry because it has not been easy for them to run the project due to feeding, vaccination and other related costs. This is why we really need your intervention towards making this income generating project a sustainable one.

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya

Congratulations on moving so quickly forward. I work with kyomya East and look forward to visitng Jinja this coming June. I am sorry to hear about the problems with the chickens - I guess with the Avian flu, vaccinations have become essential. And do all the birds need vaccinations - baby chicks do not get immunity from their mother? (You can tell I am not a farm girl)Is there a way to'pay' for the vaccine by giving the veterinarian some chickens in repayment? I think goats might be a better prospect because grass is an easy feed to find and they, like pigs, reproduce quickly. Is it possible to get a loan to buy the first livestock - goats and pigs, and some money for feed and shelter? The loan could be fairly quickly paid off by selling the offspring (wait until they are old enough to get a better price) Do try to figure out the least amount of money you would need to get started, form a farmer's co-op with officers, and open a bank account. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but if done in a group, it should not take that long.
How much will it cost to save the chickens you now have - to be able to sell them to begin on a new project like goats and pigs? My best wishes to you.
--
Ginger :)

Hi Virginia,

Thanks for joining Wakitaka. Well, it is nice to hear that you will be coming to Jinja in June!May be as you come to Kyomya, also pay a visit to Wakitaka.

The small poultry projects that were started by the youth faced a lot of challenges as you read on the site. The youth could not afford vaccination and feed expenses since they had no actual source of income and so some of the chicks ended up dying!! The youth therefore did not realize their in put in the project. Even those that survived were sold cheaply because the quality was not that the best due to such limitations. However, the youth have not given up with poultry. The only issue is to get a reliable source of income to furnish the whole project and thereafter the project will be sustainable.

Currently the youth are interested in both poultry and Goat rearing. For more details about the discussions, you can visit step2 and step3 in the projects link.

May be one issue that you need to help us is to enlighten us about what steps are required to set up a farmers' cooperative. Alternatively we thought we could register as a CBO!! What do you think?

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya
(Wakitaka, Local Rep)

Hi Emmanuel,
Glad that you are moving fast with your project looking at the contributions to the discussion.I just want to add to what Virginia has suggested.Broiler production is capital intensive( I am saying this form a personal experience because I was one time into broiler production).You need a lot of money for feed, vaccines,and other medications.I share the frustration of the youth in the chicks dying and some being sold at cheaper prices.So I agree with what Virginia suggested-go into goat/pig production. This is relatively cheaper .We do not have to look at the fact that the youth are interested in poultry but what will strive well under the circumstances.In case you need support ,technical or otherwise let me know.
Gladys

Emmanuel asked me to join this village which I always happy to do. I must explain what I do to help a village. I do not provide any kind of financial aid. I help people help themselves. I provide a means of raising vegetables, animal feed, etc that is organic, 0-till. It requires no money except for seed and a bucket dripline if irrigation is required. If veggies are produced during the dry seaon, that is when the selling price is high. They must be willing to carry 5 gallons of water each day to each dripline for each 100 feet of vegatables.

I have lived in one African country and taught in four more so I am well aquianted with conditions such as rainy/dry seasons. Poultry has problems. The best poultry to raise is Muscovey ducks. Good to eat. In every country. Require no housing and feed only during the dry season. Goats are next. The advantage of goats is the do not each human food [grain] like chickens and pigs do. They eat grass. If you are going to raise chickens, raise the native chickens. A farmer said to me one time but they do not lay many eggs. I said why they do not is that they do not have anything to eat. Feed them like the fancy breeds and they will lay a lot of eggs.

To farm, all the youth need is some land, a machette, some seed and dripline for dry season. I will email some info and mail a dvd if you are interested. minifarms@gmail.com. Ken Hargesheimer

Dear Neighbors,

First I welcome Ken to Wakitaka. I am really very grateful for your good advise!! We shall really need the information regarding the farming practice and perhaps the DVD. I have sent my details to your email.

Well it is true that broilers are capital intensive and from Gladys' experience, it is clear that they are really demanding!! Now that they are capital intensive, I suggest that we opt for the native chickens and goat rearing just like what Ken suggested. What do you think Neighbors?

Best Regards,
Emmanuel Menya
(Local Representative)

Hi Emmanuel,
It is good that you have come out with something relatively less expensive.When deciding on native chicken,let's focus on both meat and egg production for maximum returns.Also you can consider some few guinea fowls if these strive well in your environment and there is ready market for them.I agree with Ken on the goat rearing.
My Regards,
Gladys

Dear Emmanuel,
I also think it's better to go for the option of native chickens. Broilers are chickens with a lot of problems and diseases because of too many cross-breeding. I did find a project on the internet with tips about breeding chickens in Africa. They give advise about the buildings you need and a lot of things you need to keep in mind when developing a business. You can find the website on: http://www.eggmodule.org/. They are also prepared to help organisations who want to develop chicken projects. Maybe you can send them an email: info@eggmodule.org. And see if they can advise you about the most cost-effective chickens for Wakitaka?

Warm regards, Lotte