Birds are good for business
The practice of aviculture (the breeding and rearing of birds) in World Vision Senegal’s Diokoul programme got underway at the end of 2014. With sustainable economic development as its core objective, this project allows women (who are the primary beneficiaries) to develop and support effective income-generating pursuits. Women were chosen as key and worthy programme participants, having demonstrated their commitment and dedication to the well-being of their children. World Vision is working closely with the Kaffrine Department Livestock Rearing Service to bring this project to fruition.
What are the various activities that make up this village aviculture project?
To begin with, 20 women from the village of Medina Diokoul were invited to take part in the project. In early 2015 they made their way to Kaffrine for discussions with women who were already practicing village aviculture. It was an occasion to talk about the advantages of aviculture and also to exchange advice about good rearing practices.
Subsequently World Vision and the Kaffrine Department Livestock Rearing Service organised a training exercise to familiarise the women with husbandry techniques. Afterwards they were able to put their skills and knowledge to the test at two specially chicken coops constructed in Medina Diokoul. These chicken coops gave the women the opportunity to try out the techniques and best practice they had learned. At the end of the training they were given 34 chicken coops to rear their poultry.
Today, more than a year later, the chicken coops are still in use, some the chicken population growing strongly!
Ensuring sustainability
Parallel to this training, World Vision has also taken action to improve rearing conditions to make the activity more sustainable. The key priorities are:
- Suitable habitat
Previously, the poultry had the run of the village, which exposed them to attacks from predators. To combat this, World Vision built proper chicken coops and educated local people about the importance of providing livestock with shelter and protection
- Quality Feed
Birds were left to their own devices to find food, which was often of poor quality and could kill them. To overcome this, World Vision trained women on the importance of good quality feed and its preparation.
- Animal health
Heretofore, numerous viruses and parasites exposed the poultry to disease and death. World Vision has addressed this with campaigns of vaccination and disinfestation.
The many advantages of aviculture
- It’s simple to adopt; poultry rearing is an activity that anyone can try and that can be practiced in remote areas without any major outside support.
- It generates ‘healthy’ income; the hens regularly produce eggs, which are good for the health of children and can be sold to generate income to invest in the children's education (buying materials, enrolment fees etc).
- It offers an alternative; chicken meat is a means of diversifying the daily diet and furthermore allows an earning money from its sale at market.
Empowering the women of Medina Diokoul
Firstly, the women selected for the project have developed knowledge that they can apply in daily life and pass on to their fellow villagers. In fact, they have even volunteered to do this as they are keenly aware of the advantages of rearing poultry for the development of the community. The training has enabled women to put in place a high-quality project, as their livestock enjoys good health and the chicken coops have been enlarged over time.
The women of Medina Diokoul who were trained, took the step of passing on the baton by donating some hens and cocks to some other women of Diokoul village. World Vision may have prompted them but it was women themselves who decided to share their new 'wealth' for the sake of their community's overall development. They were adamant that this would be a significant step towards improving the well-being of children and families in general.
Finally, it is worth pointing out that the women have drawn a financial advantage from the effects of the vaccination/disinfestation campaigns and the training on poultry feed. They have been able to set themselves up with an emergency fund which they can turn to if and when adversity strikes, such as the loss of birds to fire or flood.