Author Archives: Lauren Bucher

Heifer International From the Field: Business Success Builds Confidence

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer International’s “From the Field” section on Heifer.org.
Heifer International
The self-confidence that running a successful enterprise provides is transformative.

Before women in India’s Kiro ki Dhani village formed a Heifer Self-Help Group, they lacked confidence, always speaking in whispers and hiding their faces when speaking in their veils. After they formed the group, they pooled their money and awarded loans to group members.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

The individual members bought goats, cows and plots of land to expand their agricultural enterprises. Their success gave them confidence and motivated them to continue improving their lives. They feel empowered and are respected. They dug deep wells in their village, brought electricity to their village and traveled across India to meet other women’s groups and offered support based on their own experience.

In Armenia, students in Heifer’s YES! Youth Club spent the past year studying business. The students began various income-generating activities based on the available resources and their geographic locations, including raising garlic, breeding animals, honey production and selling baked goods. The experience of running a small business gave these burgeoning entrepreneurs confidence.

Armenian project participant Avet had to think quickly to save his business when a hailstorm approached his garlic field. He had to find a solution to protect his garlic, so he built a roof to cover his vegetables. “This was the first time in my life that the whole responsibility was on me, and I made it,” he said. “I was really proud of myself that day.”

Heifer understands the relationship between business success and confidence. In Ukraine, Heifer and its project partners are launching a learning farm to teach co-op members further about modern farming practices. The business techniques that participants will implement after receiving training will ensure their success. The confidence the success gives will motivate them to continue innovating and improving their lives.

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How to Make Yogurt

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. We have begun mailing our Gift Catalog for this year’s holiday season and will be featuring activities that highlight the items available.

Make Yogurt at Home

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Milk provides protein and nutrients to build strong bones in children, setting the foundation for a life of health. The gift of a Milk Menagerie will provide a family with a heifer, two goats and a water buffalo. These four animals produce milk, setting the family’s children up for a healthy, prosperous future.

Yogurt provides protein and calcium. To save some money each month on your grocery bill and eat yogurt with less sugar, make it at home. The homemade version also has no preservatives and no packaging waste. It’s an all-around win.

Materials:

  • Two tablespoons of plain yogurt
  • Whole milk
  • Large glass or plastic container with a lid
  • Towel and cooler

First, heat half a gallon of milk on the stove until it begins to boil. Remove it from heat and let it cool off, but don’t rush things by putting it in the fridge.

After it cools off to room temperature, move it into the glass container. Place two tablespoons of plain yogurt in the bottom of the container and do not stir or shake the container. Secure the lid.

Make Yogurt at Home

Photo courtesy of haley. s

Wrap the towel around the container to keep the milk warm and place it in a cooler. This will hold the right amount of heat. Don’t touch the cooler or the container. Let it rest for six hours. Cool it off in the fridge for a few hours and enjoy.

To learn more about making yogurt, read this article.

Read how milk is changing lives in Ukraine.

Give now to help families give their children healthy lives with the gift of milk.

 

 

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Provide Education for Girls on Universal Children’s Day

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Uneducated women live a limited life. They have few personal choices about marriage, the number of children they will have and how their family will spend its money. Education for girls is a key element in fighting hunger and poverty.

Limited Lives

Education For Girls

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Due to their marginalized status in many areas of the world, women’s movements are often restricted to the home, and they are not welcome to participate in making personal or community decisions. Their husbands dictate their lives. Their lack of education coupled with their low status severely limits income-generating opportunities. Moreover, their social subordination places them at a high risk for domestic violence, and if they become widows or their marriage ends, trafficking.

People in many places still believe spending money on sending a girl to school is pointless. And if she is lucky enough to get to go, when income is limited, the family often will stop her schooling in favor of spending the money on her brothers’ school fees. When half of the population isn’t fulfilling its potential, the entire community suffers.

Education for Girls Changes Women’s Lives

Basic education for girls changes their lives. The Strey Tbong Pich women’s group in Cambodia has learned to read and write thanks to training through a Heifer International project. They can now learn about sanitation and nutrition, keep financial records and have access to more income-generating opportunities.

“Before joining the group and attending the literacy class, our family had never drunk boiled water,” said 37-year-old Kan Nai Ky from the Strey Tbong Pich women’s group. “Our house was not hygienic, as we had never cared about waste around our house, and there was no sanitation inside the house. Since studying the literacy book on improving the environment, we know the importance of good hygiene, sanitation and the environment. Now we always boil the water before drinking.”

Imagine if these women had learned to read when they were girls. What different lives might they have led?

One of our newest items in the Heifer International Gift Catalog is Send a Girl to School. The gift provides a family in need with training and livestock so they can earn the income they need to pay for their daughter’s school fees and supplies. Education for girls is one of the surest ways to break the cycle of poverty and dependence in a community.

Universal Children’s Day is Today

Celebrate this Universal Children’s Day by changing the future for a girl. This holiday, created in 1954 by the United Nations, works to benefit the interests of children by limiting long-work hours and increasing access to education.

This Universal Children’s Day, help provide education for girls by giving now. Your holiday gift for a loved one can truly transform the lives of others.

This post is part of our What to Give series, where we’re helping you choose the best Heifer gift for your loved ones. Read previous What to Give posts here, and subscribe to the What to Give series here.

Still don’t know what to give? Check out our entire online Gift Catalog.

 

 

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How to Make Biogas at Home

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. We have begun mailing our Gift Catalog for this year’s holiday season and will be featuring activities that highlight the items available.

Biogas

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Biogas Can Save Power and Save the Planet

Excessive harvesting of trees for fuel can strip the land of its topsoil, leading to deforestation. Deforestation and global climate change complicate poverty issues. Sustainability is one of Heifer International’s Cornerstones, and we work to incorporate its principles in all our projects. One way Heifer International is doing this is through the use of biogas. Biogas, a fuel source based on the methane from animal waste, offers a cheap, sustainable option.

A simple way to teach kids about alternative energy sources and sustainability is by making a bottle that shows how gas is made when materials decay.

 Biogas Materials:

Biogas

Photo courtesy of Blm.Gov

  • Raw meat
  • Lettuce leaves or vegetables
  • 2-liter soda bottle
  • Sand
  • Water
  • Balloon
  • Rubber gloves
  • Masking tape
  • String

First, put on the gloves and drop the raw meat and the vegetables into the bottle. Don’t put too much in, just cover the bottom well. Don’t touch the outside of the bottle while you do this. Next, wash your hands and dispose of the gloves. Then get two tablespoons of sand and pour it in the bottle, covering the contents.

Next, take two teaspoons of water and pour it in the bottle. Stretch the balloon over the bottle’s neck. Secure it in place with a string and wrap masking tape over the string.

Place in a warm location. The balloon will inflate over the next three days because of the gas that is being created by decay. Throw the project away after use.

For more details about this project, read this article.

 See how biogas stoves change the lives of rural women in Uganda.

Give now to help families improve their lives and practice conservation with biogas stoves.

 

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Make a Rain Gauge

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. We have begun mailing our Gift Catalog for this year’s holiday season and will be featuring activities that highlight the items available.

Life for many farmers hinges on access to water—how much it rains, when it rains and how to store it. Water access determines how farmers  irrigate their crops and helps determine their land’s productivity. Heifer International teaches communities how to manage their water resources through sustainable agricultural techniques.

Sustainable water-resource use is an issue of growing importance in industrialized nations as well, due to the earth’s growing population and climate change. A homemade rain gauge can measure water in your yard and help you determine if you are over- or under-watering your lawn. Plus, it’s a fun way for kids to see how much rain falls in a storm.

Rain Gauge

Rain Gauge | Photo Courtesy of thepolkadottedturtle.com

Make Your Own Rain Gauge Materials

  • A ruler
  • Clear cylindrical glass jar
  • Funnel (optional)
  • Permanent marker
  • Glue (optional)
  • Clear tape (optional)
  • Wire hanger (optional)

Begin with a clean jar. Make sure to peel away any stubborn labels and residual adhesive. Check and make sure the jar has a flat bottom on the inside, that it isn’t bowed or indented in any way like the bottom of a plastic soda bottle. This will affect your measurement’s accuracy.

Press the ruler flat against the side of the jar, making the bottom of both flush with a flat surface. Mark measurements with the marker or tape the ruler to the jar with clear tape.

Next, tape or glue the plastic funnel on top of the jar with the narrow end inside if you choose to include it. Secure the gauge by using pliers to straighten the wire hanger. Wrap part of the wire around the mouth of the jar and attach to a pole. Alternatively, you can place your gauge on the ground, just make sure it is secure enough that wind won’t knock it over. Place it away from trees and out from under buildings—the runoff will affect your readings. The important thing here is to have the jar level.

Measure away.

For more details on how to make your own rain gauge, visit the Polka Dotted Turtle website.

Read how hand-pumped wells deliver fresh water to a community in Vietnam.

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Heifer International From the Field: Training and Education

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.

Heifer International

Heifer International’s model of change hinges on education. The importance of training participants and its correlation to success cannot be overstated.

While many farmers may have the correct supplies, success often remains elusive because they don’t have the proper training. In Vietnam, backyard chicken production is popular in rural areas. Diseases, weather conditions and lack of knowledge kept preventing the chicken farmers from prospering. Heifer International Vietnam held a Farmer Field School training where farmers shared their experiences and learned from each other. The training gave them the knowledge they needed to be successful.

Mary Were and her son, Franklin, show off the family cow in Kenya.

Education also empowers disenfranchised groups. Mary Adhiambo Were’s husband died of HIV, and she struggled for years after his death. Family members of those with HIV often face rejection from the community. Mary joined a women’s cooperative where she learned how to increase her small farm’s yield. After receiving this training, Mary coaxed maximum productivity out of her farm using sustainable agricultural practices. Now, she sells milk, eggs, chickens and vegetables and bought two more acres of land with the profits from her endeavors.

Similarly, participation in Heifer International’s projects provides children with the opportunity for education. Kenflore, a 5-year-old living in Haiti, helps care for her family’s goats. The extra-income the gift of a goat provides will pay her school fees, setting her up for success.

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Make a Soda Bottle Terrarium

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. We have recently begun mailing our Gift Catalog for this year’s holiday season and will be featuring activities that highlight the items available.

The Gardener’s Gift Basket in this year’s catalog can provide a family with tree seedlings, chickens, worms and soil, all they need to start a farm. This basket helps smallholder farmers leverage their resources by maximizing their land’s yield.

Photo Courtesy of Heifer InternationalThese farmers understand the relationship between the water cycle and plant growth. A neat way to teach kids about this relationship is to build a soda bottle terrarium.

Terrariums demonstrate Earth’s natural water cycle by creating a miniature ecosystem. They require little maintenance and are a great way to re-purpose old bottles, mason jars or fish bowls. Plus, they brighten up a windowsill with green during the winter. Choose plants that flourish in humid conditions. Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus fly trap, thrive in terrariums.

Photo Credit: Terrarium Man

Materials:

  • A two-liter soda bottle
  • Pebbles
  • Soil
  • Marker
  • Seeds or seedlings
  • Scissors
  • Activated charcoal and sphagnum moss (optional)

Begin by drawing a line around the bottle about six inches from the bottom.  Cut along the line with scissors. Kids, please get an adult to do this part. Line the bottom part of the bottle with pebbles. Next, add a thin layer of charcoal and a moss layer if you choose to include them.

Then, add the soil and plant the seeds. You want to plant six to ten seeds, because they may not all sprout. Later you can remove a few and keep the largest ones. Water the seeds, but don’t over water. The soil should be damp, but not muddy.

Take the top part of the soda bottle and push it over the bottom section. Push it down until it fits snugly and there is a good overlap of the plastic. Make sure to screw the cap on tightly.

Place your terrarium in a place that gets sunlight. Don’t leave it in direct sunlight all day; the inside of the bottle will get too hot.

There you have it.

For more details about terrarium upkeep, visit Terrarium Man’s website.

Read about Rose Were, a Heifer project participant who is using her four-acre farm in Kenya to teach other farmers about sustainable agricultural practices.

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Farm to School Movement Benefits Delta Farmers and School Children

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Today is World Food Day, and organizations worldwide are taking collaborative action to end global hunger. Agricultural co-ops, this year’s focus, help smallholder farmers increase their yields and income while providing nutritious food to local populations. Read about a co-op in east Arkansas working with the Farm to School Movement to bring produce to its local school district.

Farm to School MonthEven though the Arkansas Delta boasts fertile soil and farmland, it stands as one of the most impoverished areas of the United States. Many of its people suffer from food insecurity, malnutrition and diet-related illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes. Smallholder farmers, once plentiful in this region, endure diminishing markets and struggle to make ends meet.

Heifer’s Seeds of Change program has partnered with the National Farm to School Network to address hunger and poverty in the U.S. The movement seeks to connect local farmers to school cafeterias with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.

Farm to School Benefits Delta Farmers

Willie McKinney, an east Arkansas farmer and first-year participant in the Farm to School movement, estimates that his coalition sold 1,500 to 1,600 pounds of watermelon to the Forrest City School District this year.

“I like what I’m doing; it’s got a future,” McKinney said. “We had to learn a lot, but it’s really coming this way now.”

Farm to School Watermelon

Photo by khanb1. Used under Creative Commons license.

A lifelong farmer and Arkansas native, McKinney produces peas, watermelons, okra, cantaloupe, tomatoes and various greens on his 15-acre farm just a few miles west of Caldwell, Ark. He joined a coalition of farmers that formed a few years ago. The operation grew and eventually connected with the Farms to School movement last year through the East Arkansas Enterprise Community (EAEC). The EAEC works as a marketing agent for agricultural cooperatives. It buys their produce and sells it to a local market —in this case, the school district.

Farm to School Benefits School Children

In this 2011 article about the Farm to School movement, Forrest City School District Supervisor of Child Nutrition Evelyn Rayford said the watermelons they received from the EAEC through Farm to School were much better tasting and a better price than what they had been getting.

“One of the biggest benefits of the program we hope will come from the fact that the produce we’ll get will be fresher which will give us a longer shelf life. Instead of it getting harvested one day and shipped to us, which can take a very long time, it will be harvested right here in St. Francis County and to us within a day or two which will then give us more time to work with fresher food,” said Rayford.

The EAEC began with the Farm to School initiative last year and sold watermelons to the district for the high school. McKinney predicted the fledgling program will continue to grow and eventually, the farmers will each have one crop they are responsible for providing to the school district. This year, four farmers participated out of the 15 co-op members.

“The community buys straight from the farmers, and it’s a great help,” McKinney said. “It gives you a little pocket change and gas money.”

McKinney said he already sees increased economic development. He said he is now able to hire more people, including some of his grandchildren, and to hire people from the community, keeping jobs in the area. McKinney, who also works as a bus driver for the school district, said he feels hopeful.

“Things are getting better and better. It looks like it really is going to turn out alright.”

Heifer’s Seeds of Change program trains Delta farmers in sustainable production methods that lead to higher yields. Heifer began work in the Delta in 2011, and 15 individual producers have received sustainable agriculture training at the Heifer Ranch. Heifer plans to work more with the National Farm to School Network as the Seeds of Change program continues to develop.

For more information about the Farm to School Network, visit http://www.farmtoschool.org/. To learn more about World Food Day, visit http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/learn.

To help support Heifer’s Seeds of Change program, visit our Fund a Project page.

Do you know of a Farm to School program in your area? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

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