Happy Chickens for Fiji Food & Climate Emergency!

Even While the Delta Variant Ravages Fiji, Happy Chicken Eggs Bring Hope & Help Neighbors

After a full year for our island nation of Fiji being Covid-19 free, a massive outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19 hit us in April, killing several hundred people so far, including three pregnant mothers, an 11-month old, and multiple teen-aged youths, with over a thousand new infections reported every day.  The government has reacted with a mass vaccination program and by implementing a system of regional lockdown zones to slow the spread.  The main island is sealed off from the rest of the country, and that has thankfully confined it for now, and the severely impacted capital city, Suva, has been shut off from the rest of the island as well.  Fiji has limited hospital beds and supplies to confront the emergency, thus Fiji's healthcare system is now being overwhelmed.   

The tourism industry, Fiji's biggest employer has been completely closed for over a year now, resulting in massive unemployment, and shipping and local distribution of food supplies has been disrupted.  The next scheduled passenger flights into and out of the country are in November.  Rural families have turned to farming and fishing to meet their needs, while urban dwellers are in serious condition, as food is becoming hard to find for many families. Unable to return to their traditional villages, these unfortunate families are trapped in the urban area due to the lock down.

Our neighborhood and the Happy Chicken farm were also locked down due to a local outbreak. When the first major cluster hit our province,  Isimeli, one of our Happy Chicken farmers, was infected and isolated thankfully he has since recovered.  With our hatchery hatching about 20 dozen chicks per week, we could not distribute the chicks for over two weeks, so rather than setting the eggs in the incubators, we closed the hatchery and gave eggs to neighbors who have children, receiving abundant vegetables as gifts of appreciation.  We were also stuck holding several hundred chicks, which we had to raise up.  We have distributed many to families in the immediate neighborhood as four-week olds, and we selected the biggest chickens and are now raising over a hundred as new breeding stock for the farm.

Last week, the local check point and road blocks into Nadi and Lautoka have all been lifted, in spite of the continuing cases, and so we have been able to reopen the hatchery again.  We have been selling eggs and chicks at cost and giving extras as gifts over the fence to those who can come by their own means.  We are staying cautious, waiting for our second jabs to take effect, especially since we have a new grandbaby and her 8-year old brother, plus a 5-year-old, 2-year-old, and 15-year-old living here who are too young for the vaccinations.  Several staff members and family have moved to the farm during the danger period, staying in our former homestay cottage: for a total of seven adults and five children. The children are enjoying helping with the chickens and playing together in our secure and happy bubble.  We don't expect schools to reopen until after the new year.   

 I decided not to go to town at all for chicks sales and so I called two people from Nadi who had wanted six dozen each, and the rest local people nearby, and I gave away two dozen to very poor people--22 dozen this week.  I also sold one dozen new ducklings to neighbors- two ducklings for $5 USD.