Looking back to Happy Chickens beginnings now a decade on:
If we count the two years of struggle before GlobalGiving began to help us, the Happy Chicken project is now ten years old! We have during this time produced and distributed over 50 thousand improved village chickens from our Happy Chicken hatchery. We have also taught dozens of small-scale farmers in chicken breeding and hatching at farm level in the communities, via use of local hens and assisted by the distribution of 70 small incubators to farmers in 2022, resulting in local self sufficiency and long-term change, rather than dependency.
Our food security project for the dorm at the nearby elementary and high school is continuing by raising Tilapia fish, from the pond secured behind a chin link fence. Ford Motor Company provided a small grant to help with that, via GlobalGiving. The children come from two very remote villages, a six-hour walk through forests, grasslands, hills and streams, so the dorm is essential to attend school. We earlier discovered that the children (starting from class one) were getting very little protein in their diet, and so we are doing what we can to remedy the probem in a sustainable and permanent way. A priority for 2024 will be to use the donations to the Happy Chicken project to provide chicks for the students to raise and to send home chicks with the students to their communities after they are trained. Our efforts require follow up and your donations are vital! Thank you to all our donors, both new and those of you who have given for years!
Our hatchery was closed from February to May, due to low lay during the summer molt. During this lull we changed out the older hens, many of which were >3 years old. The hens have begun laying well again now, and we got seven dozen eggs last week, and now it is up to two dozen per day! Production is expected to rise to full capacity of 20-25 dozen chicks hatched per week by August.
Our chickens are truly happy, as they are free to roam wherever they like, and to forage, eating the coconuts we open for them, dig for worms, and play all day long, from dawn until dusk when they go home to roost. They know their house, and return to lay, to rest in the heat of the day, to get out of the rain, and to sleep.
We have begun charging the more prosperous farmers the equivalent of 20 USD dollars a dozen, to cover the actual cost of production and labor, and allowing us to hire a full-time local person Eroni to take over most of the work (Graddaddy Austin will be 70 next year). We continue to provide free chicks to needy families, disabled people, widows, and youth groups, as well as to communities which set aside no-fishing tabu areas on their coral reefs. We completed a workshop for 27 community members here at the Teitei farm, from five remote village communities in May- sending home with them 8 dozen 1/3 sized 6-8 week old chicks, as well as feed and materials for mobile rearing pens.
The Happy Chicken project is a labor of love for both the chooks and for the people. We are committed to continue our current hatchery operations and to continue breeding for hardiness and production in these tropical condtions, to increasingly use natural foods and to train communities via livelihoods workshops and to distribute many thousands of chicks.
Coconut Leavings, Sweet Potato Leaves, Chopped Wild Amaranth, Moringa Tree Leaves, and Seaweeds Can Feed Foraging Chickens & Help Fight the Epidemic of Diabetes in Fiji and the South Pacific!
Fiji has the highest death rates due to diabetes on earth, and most of the South Paciic island nations have adult diabetes rates of over 20%. Eggs offer an ideal food for diabetics, plus our methods for feeding foraging chickens are spilling over to the development of new diabetic- fighting foods for communities. This offers a local means for communities in the Pacific Island region to quell the epidemic of adult-onset diabetes. There's a surprising recipe for chicken feed which is made from island trees, crops, and tiny crabs.
BULA FROM FIJI!
We can finally travel to outer islands, all internal borders have been open since late last year, and commercial national and international flights have been up and running with the tourism industry reopening fully in April, 2022!
We are now able to host our training workshops again at our Happy Chickens Farm (www.teiteifiji.org). We just held six one-day Happy Chicken workshops at the Teitei farm in October, plus one in Naidiri village down on the coast about 45 minutes away. A total of over 90 people were trained, poor farmers who had already received chicks and who were harvesting eggs. A special focus was on women, youth, and elderly people, who learned how to better manage a flock for breeding using locally abailable feeds and inexpensive housing materials. Most importantly, we trained the participants on how to operate the incubators that we gave out, to encourage small home businesses for women and youth farmers.
Earlier this year we applied and received funds from the Australian Direct Aid program to purchase 60 small 48-egg incubators to set up these small businesses. Due to buying in bulk, we were able to secure 70 incubators and have a wider impact on our local communities.
SMALL HATCHERIES -- BIG FINANCIAL GAIN FOR POOR FARMERS!
The official government poverty level in Fiji is an annual income of FJD 7,000 (USD $3,500) income for a family of six (you read that correctly – PER YEAR not per month). Fortunately, nearly everyone has a garden, coconut trees, and access to fishing and wild foods. In 2019, 30% of the population of Fiji lived below the poverty level! With the closure of the tourism industry, the biggest employer, for the past two years the number of poor families has soared. Add to that the recent food price increases, and it is becoming even more difficult for poor families to survive.
A small hatchery business can mean a lot to a family. Chicks are in high demand and can be sold for 3 FJD each (USD 1.50). The infertile eggs can be candled at 5 days and removed from the incubator, and are still good to eat! This can result in an income every 3 weeks of about FJD $130, or USD $65, as well as a healthy protein source. That may not sound like much to you or me, but it means over a thousand US dollars in income per year, increasing a poor family's income by at least 20%! This can make a huge difference to a struggling family.
Your donations to this project have funded multiple training workshops for eligible community members as well as their transport to and from the workshop. Women and youth and older people no longer able to work heavy labor on the land, were trained in all aspects of small-scale chicken production and the operation of the incubators and took home their very own incubators to grow their businesses.
GLOBAL WHEAT SHORTAGES -- LOCAL CHICKEN FEED PRICES SOAR
Chicken feeds sold in Fiji are made from 90% imported wheat. We have growing concerns that the global shortage of wheat will result in a big increase in local chicken feed prices. To ensure our trainees can be as successful as possible we include the production of local feeds in our workshops and continue our coconut rehabilitation and moringa seedling distribution programs (Google Moringa!). Stay tuned for the results in our next report!
Your donations sustain our livelihoods chicken & egg program: providing protein sources and income! Thank you, everyone.
Bula from Fiji, where it is the dry season and the nights quite cool.
Following on from our last report, farmers are now calling and messaging us in excitement to report that their chicks are now hatching! Lurenda and her five chldren, in the photo below, are among the most impacted. Challenged with the stress of raising small children in spite of chronic poverty, spending two years in the hospital after gving birth to her last child, and trying to make ends meet since returning home, the hatching of these chicks offers immense hope to this family.
Due to the higher numbers of eggs Laurenda is getting from her well-cared for flock of happy chickens, plus her early success, and with all the little helpers that are involved, we have given her a second 48-egg incubator so that she can increase production. The prospect of being able to sell the chicks at $1.50 USD, 6-8 dozen per month, will more than double the family's disposable income.
Over 200,000 adults in Fiji make less than one thousand US dollars per year, and this is the group we are targeting. A family of five making over $3,500. USD per YEAR is considered above the poverty line, and so we must help these humble and loving people help themselves.
Across the wide Pacific in Washington state, the children at Camp Cascadia chose Fiji as a country to learn about. It was week of song and sharing stories about wildlife and customs of the Fijian people. Bula and Vinaka were often heard, and every day, the children sang "I Love Fiji" with lyrics written by our own writer/GlobalGiving volunteer, Nancy Clark and Pastor Luke who added the neighbor line and served as song leader. It was sung to the tune of "I Love the Mountains, I Love the Rolling Hills," and the boom-dee-ah-dah part was hand jive, The children did hand motions for giant clams and coral caves and flowers, etc.. Happy Chickens was voted as the charity for the week, and the children shared their allowances, knowing that with the exchange rate and differences in cost of living, their gifts will bring much happiness and provide many chickens.
Thanks to all of our donors who have made this work possible, by providing chicks, knowledge, and transport for follow up. You are helping deserving families lift themselves out of poverty and to become better providers for their children.
Vinaka vakalevu!
Loloma from all the happy children and happy chickens!
Austin
BULA FROM FIJI!
Here in Fiji, at the Happy Chicken farm (www.teiteifiji.org), we can finally travel to outer islands, and all internal borders have been open since late last year, and commercial flights started in December! So we are now able to open up our training workshops again. We had a soils workshop in December, and we will soon have Happy Chicken workshops again! We teach not only methods of raising chickens using natural foodstuffs, but also are encouraging small home businesses for women and youth farmers, to help provide sustainable income to island villagers. With that in mind, we applied a few months ago to the Austrailan Direct Aid program for funds to purchase 60 small 48-egg incubators to set up these small businesses, and we just found out last week that out applicatation was successful!
Of course, now we need to select the farmers producing enough of the the happy chicken eggs, and especially disadvantaged women and families. In Fiji the official government poverty level cut off is $7,000 FJD ($3,500 US dollars) income for a family of six- PER YEAR (you read that correctly- not per month). Fortunately nearly everyone has a garden and coconut trees and access to fishing and wild foods. In 2019, 30% of the population of Fiji lived below the poverty level! With the closure of the tourism industry, the biggest employer for the past two years, the number of poor families has soared. Add to that the recent food price increases, and it is becoming even more difficult for poor families to survive.
A small hatchery business can mean a lot to a family. Chicks are in high demand, and can be sold for 3 FJD each, ($1.50 USD), and the infertile eggs can be candled at 5 days and removed from the machine, and they are still good to eat! So this can result in an income every 3 weeks of about $130. FJD, or $65. USD, which may not sound like a lot to you or me, but it means that over a thousand US dollars income per year, increasing a poor family's income by at least 20%! This can make a huge difference to a struggling family.
Happy Chicken Facebook, Fijian Ministry of Agriculture, and "Coconut Wireless" will spread word of free incubators for women who complete training.
Once the funds are in the bank, we will purchase the incubators in stock and put more on order when they sell out. The program will be announced via the Happy Chicken Facebook page, and through the Ministry of Agriculture, and the word will spread through the coconut wireless! We will need to conduct workshops at the farm for those eligible, and that is what your donations on GlobalGiving will fund- plus transport for those who come by bus. The women and youth will be trained in all aspects of small scale chicken production and the operation of the incubators, and then they will be given the machines!
Global Wheat Shortages Loom--Local Chicken Feed Prices Likely to Soar
We are concerned that the global shortage of wheat will result in a big increase in local chicken feed prices, as the feeds sold are made from 95% imported wheat. So we include production of local feeds, and we will continue with our coconut rehabilitaion and moringa seedling distribution programs (Google Moringa!). Stay updated for the results in our next report!
GlobalGiving is givng a 50% bonus on your donations of up to $50--starts Monday April 4th and goes through Friday April 8th. Your little donations sustain our livelihoods chicken & egg program: providing protein source and income! Thank you everyone.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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