THRIVING AT HOME

Small subsistence farming plots – shambas – are the homes of most Kilimahewa students.  Many of the mamas gather the extra vegetables and take them to a corner of one of the busier roads in and around the town of Moshi.  These mothers and grandmothers, and less frequently, the fathers also care for a cluster of chickens, so long as they can be protected from thieves at night.  These chickens and their eggs can feed their families, or more often provide a little extra income.  Goats and a cow complete the better shambas.

Acknowledging the environment in which our students live and many will remain, even if they obtain some type of employment in town, EdPowerment decided to strategize and target its fund-raising to support husbandry projects at the Center. 

•  Our objective: to teach the local teenagers HOW to develop better, more sustainable crops and healthy batches of broiler, and then layer chickens.
• Our goal: to enable these teenagers to achieve lives of greater dignity by increasing their income earning potential as small farmers.
• Our strategy: applying the expertise of Mama Grace and community leader, Ewald Masakuya, both of whom have successfully raised chickens, use hands-on instruction to teach the students about the proper feeding and care of chickens.

HERE COME THE CHICKS!

Last Friday 400 broiler chicks were delivered to Kilimahewa to begin this exciting venture. Mama Grace, assisted by the Kilimahewa caretaker, Aristedes, painstakingly oversaw the construction and start-up arrangements for Kilimahewa’s coop.  Now begins the meticulous regimen needed to ensure the chick’s survival – and that of our first batch of revenue-producing poultry!

   

Special thanks to 1Ndoto foundation for funding the initial chicken coop construction and materials, and to the Clutter family for funding the purchase of our first batch of broiler chickens.