Chicken Farms for War Widows

The chicken farm Project continues to be one of our successful ventures helping out several families in the North & East of Sri Lanka. Several fund recipients have expanded their activities by increasing their sale of eggs and chicken meat to the local markets. Although identifying new households to establish new projects has been impacted due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the current projects have been function smoothly. We are currently supporting seven families in the eastern part of Sri Lanka who are successfully managing their chicken farm projects. Five of these projects are administered by widows affected by the war in Sri Lanka. These individuals have continued to purchase chickens in order to maximize their return on investment (ROI).

As reported previously the demand for chicken meat has increased remarkably due to the decrease in supply of sea food. Due to the increased prices of sea food it has become more affordable to consume chicken meet for average households. Taking this demand to their advantage the farm owners have been able to increase their sales in their communities. This initiative has also helped several other war widows to market their products as a joint venture.

NOW-WOW had allocated approximately SLR. 521,000 towards the existing projects.   Our local coordinator has been actively involved with these families (war widow) to make sure the projects are managed efficiently and these families work efficiently towards maximizing their return on investment. At present the smaller farms are continuing to generate an income between SLR.750 and SLR1250 each day.

On our previous report we did inform that the local authorities ( Small Business Development Division) have approached NOWWOW expressing interest for a new venture. It is a project to develop a factory towards animal husbandry utilizing organic products freely available in the area. This project is still under consideration by the board of directors of the NOWWOW charity. But due to the pandemic the review process had be put on hold.  We hope to review this project in the near future.

We are pleased to report that the Chicken Farm Project has been a very successful venture so far and has expanded beyond our own expectations. On our previous communication we reported the progress of the initial fund recipient who started off with 100 chickens. This individual has currently expanded his activities towards the establishment of three separate farms in the Northeast of Sri Lanka. This initiative has provided employment to several individuals in these local areas. Utilizing some of the profits he has continued his purchase of 50 chickens every fortnight in order to maximize his return on investment (ROI).

The demand for chicken meat has increased tremendously since the Covid pandemic. As the local fishermen are prevented from deep sea fishing, prices of sea food has increased making it more affordable to consume chicken meet. Taking this demand to his advantage the farm owner has established a chicken meet shop in the town of Batticaloa. He has started selling roast chicken with the intention of expanding his business into catering services. This initiative has also helped several other war widows to market their products as a joint venture.

We are pleased to report that NOWWOW’s local coordinator has identified seven families (war widow) who have also undertaken chicken farm projects. Unlike the previous fund recipient who had expanded his business totally selling the chicken for consumption (broiler chicken) these recipients are hoping to generate their income by selling eggs to the local consumers. At present the smaller farms are generating an income between SLR.750 and SLR1250 each day.

We are also excited to report that the local authorities ( Small Business Development Division) have approached NOWWOW expressing interest of a new venture. It is a project to develop a factory towards animal husbandry utilizing organic products freely available in the area. This project is under consideration by the board of directors of the NOWWOW charity.

The chicken farm Project has been one of the latest assignments under taken by the NOWWOW charity to help the war affected victims in the Northern and Eastern regions of Sri Lanka. This project has been progressing towards its intended goals since inception. We are glad to report that this has been a project which had been able to produce a return on Investment (ROI) within a very short period of time. Also, this project has let to income generation for other individuals due to employment opportunities in the farm.

We are pleased to report the progress of the initial fund recipient who established the first chicken farm under the guidelines of the above project. During the first month of this project we were able identify a recipient and establish a poultry farm consisting of 100 chicken. NOWWOW charity provided the funds need to purchase the chicken food as well as vaccination costs. So far Rs. 43,400 had been collected from the sale of 60 chickens for consumption by local restaurants. Utilizing a portion of the income the farm owner has added another 100 chicken and expanded the farm.  

We are glad to report that the farm owner is on his path to being self sufficient and also expanding the farms products utilizing the currently generated income. The farm owner has also obtained the necessary permits to sell chicken meat to local restaurants as well as consumers directly from the farm as well. He has also decided to purchase 25-50 chicken each week as the demand for his business continues to grow. Three individuals have been employed in this farm to perform various duties including upkeep of a clean environment and focus on increasing sales to its existing customers and establishing new avenues.

We are hoping to report more success stories once we identify the right individuals who need assistance as well as have the passion to succeed.

Links:

• http://www.nowwow.org