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Varsity Students Project Changes Lives

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Published on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 15:05

It is midday and Ms Janet Kemunto Aboki moves her two cages bearing three-day-old chicks to a sunny spot outside her house and refills the feeding troughs.

Her brood of two indigenous hens cluck noisily as they circle the cages scratching the ground and inviting the chicks to feed.

Kemunto, a 28-year-old single mother, is among 18 members of Ensoko Women Group who have benefitted from the ‘One Hen Campaign’ sponsored by the Innovation Empowerment Programme (IEP), an NGO in Kisii County.

A resident is given a cage bearing two chickens. So far, 200 farmers have benefitted from the programme in Nyamira and Kisii counties. [PHOTO: KENAN MIRUKA/STANDARD]

The campaign is spearheaded by four university students who aim to eradicate poverty in the region by empowering vulnerable groups and inculcating entrepreneurship skills in the youth.

The hen is used as seed capital with which beneficiaries can make savings and get financial empowerment.

Kemunto and her mother, who hail from Embaro village in Masaba South, received two hens each from the NGO five months ago and hers have hatched 19 chicks.

Easy to manage

"It is easy to manage indigenous chicken as they can feed on their own. I only need to position the cages in the sun and carry on with other chores. My aim is to raise funds to cater for the school fees of my children through chicken," she says.

Once the chicks mature, she will surrender three from each hen to the programme to benefit other farmers.

She has also received Sh2,700 loan from the NGO for her kitchen garden, where she grows cowpeas and traditional vegetables.

In the next homestead, 76-year-old Francis Obare Isaac attends to the 13 chicks belonging to his wife Florence Nyamoita, a beneficiary of the project.

"I have stayed in Nairobi for 50 years and I returned to find my wife in this programme. I am eager to join the programme to raise funds to educate my children," says Obare.

Grace John, the chairperson of Ensoko Women Group, says 18 out of the 30 members in the group have received chicken.

"Most members are poor and we intend to use this programme to eradicate poverty. Initially, we engaged in brick making and later maize farming but we failed due to leadership problems. This programme is different as the chickens are owned and managed individually," explains Mrs John.

She says indigenous chickens are easy to manage, as they are less labour intensive.

"We have a ready market for eggs and chicken in surrounding learning institutions and towns," she adds.

Behind the ‘One Hen Campaign’ are four University of Nairobi Bachelor of Commerce students.

James Makini, 24, is the NGO’s chief executive officer while Mac Samwel Moseri is his deputy. The two will graduate at the end of this year.

Dennis Nyasenti, 23, and Linet Kemunto Ongwae, 27, both second year students at the institution, are the other members.

"This idea was conceived from a class assignment on challenges facing entrepreneurs," explains Makini.

"We realised that most entrepreneurs failed because they deal in enterprises they have little knowledge about and lack sound financial management practices," he adds.

Makini says most rural entrepreneurs get loans from microfinance institutions but are unable to service their loans, as they lack skills to steer their projects to profitability.

"We came up with the chicken project as it is common and well understood and has many business opportunities surrounding it. Carpenters can benefit from making cages, sellers of chicken feed and agro chemical shops are potential businesses that can emerge," says Moseri.

Disease resistant

So far, 200 farmers have benefitted from the programme in Nyamira and Kisii counties, and over 1,000 indigenous chicken distributed.

"We buy the indigenous chicken from locals. They are preferable because their maintenance costs are low and they are disease resistant. Beneficiaries surrender three chicks per hen to the programme for onward lending," says Makini.

After a careful study of a group’s background, individual beneficiaries register with Sh100. After training, they receive a cage and a hen upon payment of Sh200 as the first instalment.

After six months, beneficiaries surrender two chicks each to the programme for onward lending to other farmers and once the Sh500 balance is cleared, they gain full ownership of the cage and hen.

"Currently, we are making modern 250 cages for distribution to new beneficiaries in Nyamira County. Research shows chicks don’t survive after hatching due to poor management hence the use of a cage," adds Makini.

A standard cage has a feeding trough and is covered by a wire mesh. Each can last up to two years. Droppings can be collected, reducing chances of contracting diseases.

"With use of appropriate technology, one hen can give a minimum of 100 chickens in a year. We are training farmers to embrace use of technology like incubators," explains Moseri. After hatching, the hen is separated from chicks for two weeks and in the third week, it starts laying eggs again instead of the usual three months.

"It is possible to achieve Vision 2030 in the next five years in Kisii and Nyamira by eradicating poverty. We encourage beneficiaries to register their children to introduce entrepreneurship at an early stage in life," observes Moseri.

According to the students, children can learn numeracy and financial management through the programme.

Meet basic needs

"Children can learn the spirit of giving by surrendering the chicks for others to benefit. They also learn responsibility as profit from the venture can meet their basic needs," explains Nyasenti.

The students intend establish a micro financial institution offering solutions to rural homesteads.

"We have a staff of 12 people. With support, the number of direct and indirect jobs associated with this programme can rise," says Moseri.

The students urge fellow youth in colleges to have an open mind and be innovative. They advise them to embrace entrepreneurship and create jobs for themselves instead seeking employment.

Established in 2009, the NGO currently partners with the Cereal Growers Association (CGA) and Pan African Agribusiness and Agro industry Consortium (Panaac) in its programmes.

Last year, the students participated in the Universities, Business and Research in Agribusiness and Innovation Fair in Nairobi where they made a presentation on how innovators can stimulate entrepreneurship in Africa.

With help from partners, they have acquired an automatic incubator that can hatch 40 eggs every 21 days.

The chicks are raised at their hatchery in Borabu District before being loaned out to farmers.