It’s lean, green, and full of protein: frog - the other, other white meat

In many parts of the world frog meat is seen as a delicacy. In some areas where World Vision works, it is one of the only sources of protein within reach.

Phoun and his wife, Nitnoy, grow rice and vegetables on their nine-acre farm in southern Laos, but their harvest is never enough to provide sufficient food for their seven children, let alone anything else.When they are not working in their fields, Phoun, Nitnoy, and their children spend hours searching for food in the nearby forests. They fish, hunt frogs, and search for wild vegetables to supplement what they are able to produce.

Their average monthly income from what they can grow or find is just US$12, not enough to buy food they need to survive. Clothing, medicine, and school are well beyond their reach. Life was so difficult that their eldest daughter, Leng, went to work in Thailand five years ago. She was only 10.

“We have no news about her,” says Nitnoy, trying to hold back her tears. “We don’t even know where she is working.” They are not sure if she is still alive. Nitnoy and Phoun felt powerless to provide for their children’s most basic physical needs, let alone give them opportunities for a brighter future.

Then, in 2008, World Vision began working in their community. Two of their children were sponsored, and Phoun approached World Vision with the idea of starting a frog farm. Local World Vision staff agreed to support Phoun and two other families with the necessary supplies to start the frog-farming pilot program. Each family received 150 frogs, 50 pounds of frog food, and a roll of plastic fencing (to protect the frogs and their eggs from snakes, chickens, and other animals that like to eat them).

Not only does the frog meat provide a constant source of protein for their six growing children, it also provides a source of income. Frog meat can be sold for about US$1 per pound in the village and fetch even higher prices in nearby cities.

Phoun and Nitnoy are able to spend more time with their children and less time searching for food. Two of their children have been enrolled in school, and they hope that profits from their frog farm will enable their other children to study soon.