Empowering India's Rural Poor through Poultry

Our latest Annual Review is packed full of impact stories and photos from all our programme locations in India (and Madagascar), keeping you up-to-date with our progress over the last year.  If you haven't already seen it, please do take time to have a look - just click here. You will find inspiring stories from many of our wonderful chicken farmers, like Urmila for example, pictured here.  Her story epitomises how our Poultry Farming Programme can be the stepping stone to a new beginning for many of the women who embark on this learning journey with us.

"Urmila’s story is one of self-determination and resilience. She has shown how backyard poultry, a low-cost, high-impact livelihood model for rural women, can drive economic change and lead to sustainable growth and long-term independence."  Shivia Field Supervisor

Urmila has been earning a steady income from her flock for over four years now and has sold over 200 chickens.  She proudly told us about the spending decisions she is now able to make to support her family, including investing in her daughters’ education and saving for their future.  She has also bought a new wooded bed and a bicycle for her husband to transport the chickens to market.  And she has big plans for the future!

"This is my fourth year as a poultry farmer and I am ready to expand my business even more. With the training from Shivia I can now apply for the Large-Scale Poultry Shed Preparation Scheme from the Government. Thank you for helping to make me an independent poultry farmer!"

As always, thank you for supporting Shivia and helping us to continue giving women like Urmila the opportunity to earn a decent income, with dignity.

We look forward to updating you with more inspiring stories in our next post.

The Team at Shivia

Links:

• Shivia's Annual Review for 2025/26