By Austin Bowden-Kerby | Project Director
The 9th of August, six women from devastated Koro island travelled by carrier, ferryboat, and bus to come to the Sustainable Livelihoods farm for a four day "Happy Chcken" workshop, where they were joined by six other women and three men from Moturiki Island and Tailevu, which were also horribly devastated.
The workshop was lively and covered the production of local feeds, village appropriate housing, improved breeding, and chick raising. The Koro women returned home with ten dozen three-week old village adapted chcks, ten ducklings, and enough chicken feed for two months, plus materials for the production of two mobile rearing pens and a larger roosting and laying house.
Due to the severe damage on the island of Koro, and the fact that there are no coconuts yet on the surviving trees, we are committed to sending chicken feed for the first year, although the chickens will be free-range and will obtain an estimated 50% of their daily needs by foraging alone. We will need to continue to raise funds in support of the project, and for expanding to neighboring villages.
The Moturiki trainees, from four vllages, received materials for building five moble rearing pens, and we are presenty raising up twenty dozen chicks to the three-week stage, before transporting them to the commmunities. The adult chicken houses on both Koro and Moturiki will be built from the abundant damaged materials that were formerly homes, with C4C providng strong posts, nails, and undamaged iron for a leak-proof roof, using recycled materials for the walls.
We will be travelling to Koro and Moturiki in the coming weeks to follow up and to bring whatever materials are missing. Photos will be posted on the Happy Chicken Project Facebook page.
This was the first time that the women had left their communities since the terrifying storm in February, and it appears to have been a healing and very encouraging experience for them.
Thank you again for helping make this possible.
With gratitude,
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