Chickens are common in rural Guatemala and eggs are a perfect food for families living in poverty! Since 2015, we have offered a course for women called “How to Raise Chickens at Home.” Again, most families have experience with chickens but maybe don’t know how to raise them effectively and efficiently, and the course goes into detail about identifying illnesses, how to vaccinate, proper space and coop construction (even from repurposing old materials), alternate sources of nutrition such as kitchen scraps and herbs, and raising chickens for extra income (through eggs or meat). When the women finish the course, they receive chickens as a reward for their participation, so they can put their new knowledge into practice right away.
Fish, while not as popular as chickens, are another great animal to raised in our area (especially since we have natural springs) as protein or income for the family, and we have several families that have participated in training and now have their own ponds! The preschoolers maintain the fish we have here at the center.
This training is offered by Irvin at Huertos Räxjuyú (Resh-Who-YOU) and, while it started here at Small Change 4 Big Change, the chicken course has now been taught at several other local nonprofits.
