Category Archives: Education

Heifer increases goat productivity in Nepal

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In January Heifer launched its dream project for Nepal, Strengthening Livestock Value Chain (SLVC). Its goals are to increase meat and milk production to substitute current imports and create a unique value chain for meat and milk that incorporates smallholder farmers not only in the production phase but also in marketing it. But there was a glitch. Over the years degradation of genetic merit in goats resulted in lower levels of productivity. In layman’s terms, they had fewer babies who did not grow as well and farmers could not sell them for good prices.

Farmers of Ladavir in the Sindhuli district in eastern foothills of Nepal are a part of a unique classroom under the Community Initiative for Genetic Improvement in Goats (CIGIG). Here they learn about how to improve production of goats through selective breeding. These farmers are not new to rearing goats but what they learn in this classroom will teach them to do so in a more scientific way through observation and intervention. To put it simply, it’s the Mendel’s Law in action. A pool of healthy genetically superior does and bucks will be produced by the end of the project and will be marketed across communities around the country to in-turn increase their production. Ladavir will be a training ground and resource village for genetically superior high productivity goats.

Heifer’s work around the world is not just limited giving animals and agricultural inputs if farmers but also extends to doing what needs to be done to bridge the gaps between the present that the future that Heifer envisioned together with the families it works with. CIGIG is one such initiative.

Participants of the first CIGIG class mull over a poster that depicts how to select a good male and female goat from physical traits for breeding.

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Holiday World Ark Features U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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The holiday edition of World Ark magazine is out, hope you got yours already. This issue is especially great.

It’s not every day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton takes the time to chat with us about women’s role in development work. She makes a brilliant case for why boosting women’s status around the globe is so important.

“We know that investing in women’s employment, health and education levels leads to greater economic growth across a broad spectrum,” she said. “It also leads to healthier children and a better educated population overall. We know that political systems that are open to full participation by women produce more effective institutions and more representative governments.”

The magazine also features stories and photos about Heifer projects in Senegal, Malawi and Bangladesh.

If you haven’t found your magazine in the mailbox yet, view it online here.

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Clinton: Value Women the Same as Men

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While her days as the U.S. Secretary of State are drawing to a close, Hillary Clinton used an opportunity last week to again call attention to the plight women around the world.

Clinton made similar remarks in an interview with World Ark magazine, which we published in our Holiday issue. Long a champion for women, Clinton acknowledged both in her speech last Thursday and in the interview with Heifer, that there are still great strides to be made before women and girls are seen as equals to men.

“As the mother of a daughter, and as someone who believes strongly in the right of every person, male and female, to have the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential,” Clinton said, “it pains me so greatly when I travel to places around the world and am received almost as an exception to the rule, where the male leaders meet with me because I am the secretary of state of the United States, overlooking the fact that I also happen to be a woman.”

“We are on the right side of history in this struggle, but there will be many sacrifices and losses until we finally reach a point where daughters are valued as sons, where girls as educated as boys, where women are encouraged and permitted to make their contributions to their families, to their societies just as the men are,” she said.

The speech followed Clinton’s acceptance of a humanitarian award given by Concern Worldwide, an anti-poverty organization.

Clinton’s interview also appears in the first World Ark tablet edition, as well, which you can download from the App Store on your iPad or from the Google Marketplace for your Android tablet.

 

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We Are The Heifer Ranch Volunteers

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Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Heifer Ranch volunteers. Stay tuned in 2013 for our upcoming Heifer Blog series, Volunteer Voices.

More than ever, it is often difficult to feel hopeful about the future – especially when one billion people live in urban slums, and nearly 870 million chronically hungry. Sometimes, it seems that our worries focus more on making money and the status of our economy rather than the plight of those less fortunate than we are. Yet, if we take a moment to slow down, there are people all around us dedicating their time and heart to local, national, and international causes that do make the world a better place. A bell is often ringing outside our supermarkets for the Salvation Army, your barista may mentor refugee children in return for a smile, and on cold winter nights food finds its way into the hands of those who do not have a home to come back to.

Here on the Heifer Ranch there are volunteers from all around the world who come and live on the ranch full-time. We work in the CSA garden, raise and care for livestock, work with school groups, and simply maintain the ranch as a whole.

Heifer Ranch volunteers

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

But why do we volunteer? Why do people give so much of their time and effort and receive nothing in return? Often volunteering is a learning experience. Many of us had never been on a ranch before, knew nothing about raising livestock, sustainable agriculture, or issues relating to hunger and poverty, yet by being here and pushing ourselves, we have grown. Those that had never touched a sheep in person are now trimming their hooves. We know how to water a garden using a treadle pump after growing up having to just turn a faucet to receive this precious liquid. We have learned how to absorb the staggering statistics revolving around hunger and poverty and then convey this to students in a way that impacts and empowers them to act. And, we have all found ourselves acquiring mountains of crafty knowledge we had never envisioned prior to our arrival. Yet we also learn about who we are, about what we hold dear to ourselves, and what we want in the future.

From this, it may seem that volunteering is a personal activity, one that we do to learn or make ourselves happy. And though this may play a role in us being motivated to volunteer, this is normally not the reason one chooses to volunteer. There are many ways we can learn and gain experience while at the same time receiving something in return, like a job. And yes we often do find joy in the act of volunteering, but this seems to be an unavoidable side affect of performing a selfless act that helps aid others in need. Despite this, happiness is not the motivation of volunteers, because there are many other ways we could be spending our time that would load us full of such hedonistic feelings.

What brings us to volunteer is passion. We find ourselves captivated by so many different things, and for each person our drive is focused differently. Through volunteering we are able to translate our passion into a positive force. Those that are transfixed by the plight of the homeless in their community spend time at food banks and kitchens for the homeless. Those who dream of a food system where we can all thrive and be healthy spend time in community gardens. And those who are captivated by the struggle of those less fortunate in all corners of the Earth volunteer for organizations like Heifer, providing a hand up to those who see no help in sight.

Volunteering is a crucial action. It is one that humbles us, allows us to push past the individualism which often holds us back, gives to those who cannot give, and creates a loving community from which we all can thrive.

It is not that we all become full time residential volunteers, but that we can find the time to volunteer in some capacity. For no matter how small or how little time we have to give we make a difference. We fill a belly, bring about a smile, and empower someone who has never felt powerful.

Volunteers strive to reach that better world and motivate others to take time out of a busy schedule to perform a selfless deed and create a beautiful place to live. We have hope, hope in future where far more people perform work, thinking of someone other than themselves, hope for a better world. And as we write, we have faith that hope will become realize. More people are volunteering and, as on the sign one sees departing the Heifer Ranch, more people “go in peace.”

Heifer Ranch sign.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Learn more about the Heifer Ranch, or find out how to become a Heifer Ranch volunteer!

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A Healthy Home Is Key to Healthy Living

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A healthy home is a big step on the path to healthy living, and it is a key component of Heifer International projects. Not only does the increased income our families see allow for money to be spent on much-needed improvements to their homes, Heifer includes trainings to teach the needed skills and facilitates camaraderie that often results in participants helping each other complete tasks that would otherwise seem out of the question.

As I was writing this blog and looking through the project photos, I was struck by the differences in the homes around the world. I love that Heifer doesn’t go in and change this cultural uniqueness, but adapts. A healthier, happier home is the goal.


When you give a Heifer gift, it’s not just a cow, or a goat, or even a llama. It’s a new way of life filled with hope and promise. It leads to healthy living where there was once a struggle for basic survival. Food, water and shelter are all important to healthy living, and all are components of Heifer International projects.

healthy home

A noticeable improvement in the Pacoricona's kitchen before and after.

Take the Pacoriconas, for example. They live in Peru near Puno and Lake Titicaca, and are part of a Healthy Homes initiative that trains and distributes supplies to improve the living conditions of participating families. The Pacoriconas first built a model of their home and went through trainings, then started construction. Today they have a new house with an improved kitchen, refrigerator, neatly organized bedrooms, a tool shed and an outhouse, as well as spaces inside the house to maintain their personal hygiene and study. An animal shelter and family garden were also added. Imagine this being accomplished in entire communities. This will undoubtedly allow those participating to enjoy more healthy living.

Donate to help families afford healthy living conditions. This gift will support projects that give families the opportunities to earn the income they need for healthy living by purchasing roofing materials, bricks, concrete for floors and so much more.

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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Goat Project in Uganda Improves Lives of Families Affected by HIV/AIDS

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Editor’s note: Last Saturday was World AIDS Day. Today we share with you another story of how Heifer’s work goes a long way to benefit families affected by HIV/AIDS. Original story by Christian DeVries.

Women's Goat Project Addresses HIV/AIDS in Mbale, Uganda

Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

During the past few years we have witnessed many great breakthroughs in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Awareness campaigns have been launched, dozens of new medicines were approved, and in Thailand in 2009 a clinical trial provided the first clear evidence of a vaccine for humans.

Sub-Saharan Africa has been one of the hardest hit areas. “More than 68 percent (approximately 22.5 million people) of those infected are in sub-Saharan Africa.”

One country that has made a lot of progress through stakeholder cooperation, effective awareness campaigns, and free access to antiretroviral treatment (ARVs) is Uganda. In the late 1980s Uganda’s urban infection rate was around 29 percent, with a countrywide rate of 15 percent. Today the prevalence rate has dropped to 6.5 percent.

“Although the country has been able to dramatically reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS among the population, the pandemic has caused the death of large numbers of young adults and orphaned approximately 1 million children.” An additional 1.2 million people are living with HIV in Uganda.

Mrs. Lovisa Wamukota (70) lives in Wokukiri village, in Mbale district, in Uganda’s Eastern region. Although she is not HIV positive, her life has been forever changed by this terrible disease.

Lovisa is the sole caregiver for 12 of her grandchildren between 5-18 years old. These children were orphaned by this deadly virus and unfortunately they are all HIV positive. I had the opportunity to meet four of the children: two boys, Simon Wamukota Waswa (15) and his twin brother, Fred Wamukota Kato (15); and two girls, Tereza Wabuyaka (10) and Gladys Wakoli (5). Lovisa’s husband, Mr. Justin Wamukota, passed away at 75-years-old. Together they had nine children; four are still alive and the other five have died.

Life was unimaginably difficult for a widowed elderly woman trying to care for so many young children. She did basic agricultural work for others and sold some of her own crops, but it was never enough. She was never sure where their next meal would come from. “Life was hard. I struggled to find enough food to feed the orphans,” said Lovisa. “I could work very hard, but the production was not enough.”

She desperately wanted to send her grandchildren to school. “It helps a child to learn to look after themselves when they grow up,” said Lovisa. “My parents told me, ‘You need an education so you can read life’s signposts so you won’t get lost.’” However, it was a choice between eating and buying books. “I did not have enough money to send the children to school,” Lovisa said. Whenever she was able to scrap some money together it was spent to meet her family’s basic immediate needs.

The Wamukota family’s life began to change on August 3, 2007, when Lovisa received a Saanen dairy goat from Heifer International. Tereza immediately fell in love with the pure white goat, so Lovisa named the goat “Tereza” also. “She always goes and plays with her goat. She feeds it and cares for it. She will go and get water for her when there is no water,” said Lovisa. “She produces good milk,” said Tereza. “It gives me energy to sweep the house.” “I also drink the milk and get energy,” said Lovisa.

Milk also gives Tereza the energy to play her favorite sport, netball, a fast-paced game similar to basketball. She plays netball at Wochili Primary School where she is in Primary grade 3. Her favorite subject in school is English.

Tereza (the goat) is a fantastic mother. She has kidded six times and each birth has been twins. The gift of one goat to Lovisa has multiplied into 18 goats. Lovisa also received a mineral block and tick medications as part of this project.

The trainings she received provided to be important as she expanded her herd. She has participated in several trainings, including: goat management, disease control, housing, feed, collect and manage manure, fodder, environmental conservation (energy saving stove), milking and handling, and Heifer’s Cornerstones.

Her favorite Cornerstone is Full Participation because, “This Cornerstone encourages people to come together and when we are together I don’t feel lonely,” said Lovisa. “As a family, Full Participation encourages collective action. We do our work together.” She added, “When we are together, we learn from each other and the children learn from me. This will help them sustain their lives.” Lovisa is happy because she knows that her grandchildren will have a skill that they can rely on if school isn’t for them or if they can’t find work after school.

Currently they are milking four does and receive an average of 2 liters per goat. From this 8 liters, 2 liters are used for home consumption and 6 liters are sold. Each liter sells for $0.42, so they earn $2.54 per day or $928 per year.

The manure from so many goats has dramatically improved Lovisa’s crop production. Before the project she was harvesting 200 kg of maize from 1 acre. Now she gets 800 kg or more per acre. Her banana plantation has seen similar improvements. “Ever since I started using the manure I haven’t been able to lift up the bunches because they are too heavy,” said Lovisa.

More food to eat and fresh milk to drink has helped the Wamukota family recover from many of their health problems. “I have noticed a very great change. Without this milk some of the children would be dead now. It is the difference life and death,” said Lovisa. Tereza was the sickest of all the children. Not only is she HIV positive, but her parents died when she was only nine-months-old.

A proper diet with good nutrition helps boost the body’s immune system and in turn increases the effectiveness of HIV medications. Thankfully, all of her grandchildren are now on antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Once a month, Lovisa or one of the older children travels to Mbale to pick up the medicines.

In Lovisa’s opinion, the biggest impact of this project is she now sends all of the children to school. She sells milk to buy school supplies: uniforms, pens, etc., and she sells goats to pay school fees for the children in secondary school. With four children in secondary school, Lovisa pays $153 per year per child,  for a total of $610 per year. For the five children in primary school, she spends an additional $127 per year.

Lovisa is certain that without Heifer’s assistance she would never have been able to spend $737 to send her grandchildren to school. “I am grateful to God that I am alive,” she said. “Many have died, but I am glad I have been alive to see this change.”

Many other families have benefited from this project. Heifer provided 180 families with good dairy goats. An additional 450 families have now received pass on animals. “We thank Heifer Project for working with us and giving us these goats,” said Martha Nekesa (42), another Heifer recipient and Chairwoman of Lovisa’s group.

“Heifer is special, because it gets the donations and delivers it to the families. They have people who check to make sure it arrived to the intended beneficiary,” said Lovisa. “I trust Heifer because they promised me a goat and they fulfilled their promise.”

This simple promise has reduced hunger, improved health, and given 12 children a future that just four years ago seemed impossible. Heifer will continue to fulfill its promises, but we need your help. No donation is too small. Remember that even a small promise has the power to change someone’s life.

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Heifer Trusts Women

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On the 4th and 5th of December 2012, London will awake to a realization that women are central to solving the problems of the developing world. The Trust Women Conference will highlight the potential and achievement of women around the world in solving the day to day problems that their communities face. The headlining themes are:

  • Rewriting the rules: Embedding women’s rights in constitutions
  • Female genital mutilation: Challenging ‘culture’ to stop the cutting
  • The modern day slave trade
  • Child marriage: Forced marriage
  • How to put the trafficking business out of business?
  • Women and finance: The high cost of exclusion

Influential speakers will highlight issues and experience with the aim to drive innovation and partnerships by connecting legal expertise with the financial, technological and educational resources that enable women to exercise their rights.

Heifer trusts women

Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Today’s world problems ranging from food insecurity, malnutrition, lack of education, health and finance are all in one way or the other connected to the state of women and the lack of their participation and/or recognition thereof.

Heifer’s work in more than 40 countries around the world involves many women smallholder farmers. Its gift of livestock and training allow these women to incrementally increase their potential to provide for their families and strengthen their stance in their cultures and communities, making them less vulnerable to the tribulations that exist. Our scaled up approach now focuses not only on increasing production to alleviate poverty and hunger around the world but will also build their capacities to become active proponents of value chains and access markets directly contributing long term sustainable economies susceptible to most social, economic and natural disasters. Women in such positions are better able to promote and ensure women’s rights.

Heifer hopes that this conference will lead to a better understanding of global poverty, hunger and environmental issues, the connection to women’s rights and how women can play an active part in mitigating these concerns.

Follow along with the Trust Women conference live.

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World Ark Now Available on Tablet!

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World Ark iPad_Cover

Heifer International continues a long streak of innovation by becoming the first development nonprofit to offer a full digital magazine—the World Ark you’ve always loved—available in a free download on iPad or Android tablets.

You’ve likely already received your print edition of the Holiday 2012 World Ark, but as of today, there’s more content and features to love on your iPad or Android tablet. The print issue will continue to be available to Heifer supporters with no interruption.

For this premiere tablet Holiday issue, extra features include:

  • A welcome video by Heifer’s President and CEO Pierre Ferrari;
  • Video of women in Bangladesh celebrating during a Pass on the Gift ceremony from photographer Geoff Oliver Bugbee as well as a video glimpse of how the Arkansas Chuggabugs traveled around the world to raise money for Heifer;
  • World Ark iPad_CatalogA spectacular digital catalog featuring favorite alternative gift items including the gifts of women’s empowerment, sending a girl to school and cookstoves to improve health and the environment;
  • Interactive infographics including how women build clay cookstoves in Malawi;
  • An extra review of poverty- and hunger-related courses you can take for free on your tablet from iTunesU;
  • The latest news from the field on an interactive world map;
  • Slideshows featuring stunning photography.
Download your version today from the App StoreSM on your iPad or from the Google Marketplace for your Android tablet. Email our magazine staff at worldark@list.heifer.org to let us know what you think and what’d you like to see featured here for future issues.

The World Ark digital magazine will appear quarterly in spring, summer, fall and holiday. It was created with the help of digital design experts Bates Creative Group using the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite platform.

The World Ark print edition got its name in 1994 with an issue celebrating Heifer’s 50th anniversary. The magazine’s predecessor, Sharing Life, started in the mid-1970s.

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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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Universal Children’s Day: Young Dreams for Poultry Business

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In celebration of Universal Children’s Day we highlight a young participant of Heifer Armenia.

Story by Anna Arakelyan | Business Educator | Development Principles NGO

Universal Children's Day: Young Rudik holds a chicken from his poultry farm, a business he created through a YES! Youth Club affiliated with Heifer International Armenia.

Young Rudik holds a chicken from his poultry farm. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Rudik Simonyan studies business as a member of Heifer’s YES! Youth Club in Mets Sariar, a community in the Shirak region of Armenia. Within the framework of the Young Agriculturists Network of Armenia (YANOA) project, 12-year-old Rudik received a small seed grant to start his own poultry business, in which he practices the skills and knowledge he learned during lessons at the club.

Rudik established a small chicken farm, which he named Tchoutik, the Armenian word for chicken. He bought eight hens and a rooster, as well as barley and vitamins. A few months later, he sold six of the hens’ chicks, and earned AMD 12,000, or about $30. He used part of the money to buy more feed for his poultry and passed the rest on to another student in his club.

Universal Children's Day: Rudik shows off his poultry farm in Armenia, which he started through a Heifer International project.

Rudik shows off his poultry farm. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Rudik’s father died several years ago, so he considers himself the “man” of his family, which includes his mother and sister. He plans to build on his current poultry business to make it larger and very successful so that he can take excellent care of his family. Rudik wants to be able to provide his mother and sister with every necessary comfort for a happy life. His biggest dream is to save the money he earns from his business to buy them a beautiful new house.

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Training is Strengthening the Community of Deriveaux, Haiti

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At the end of the summer, I traveled to Haiti to spend a couple of weeks visiting projects with Heifer Haiti staff. For previous posts on my trip, see my page.

I would also like to note that members of ASSOPAD, the organization featured in this story, were greatly affected by Hurricane Sandy. About 15 hectares of members’ crops (beans, corn, yam and bananas) were destroyed, and 28 of their goats were killed. Thirty-five member houses were damaged and three were destroyed.

Part of the reason for Heifer International’s success in partnership with smallholder farmers  is our extensive training process. Before any of the participants in our projects receive livestock, seeds, etc., they engage in a series of trainings that teach and reinforce principles of sustainable agriculture and livestock management, as well as a host of other issues to set them up for success.

ASSOPADP in Deriveaux, Haiti

ASSOPADP in Deriveaux, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

While visiting projects in southern Haiti, I asked members of the Association for the Progress and Advancement of Deriveaux, Pestel (ASSOPADP), one of our From the Ground Up partner organizations, to discuss with me the impact of Heifer’s training on their community, and I want to share some of their responses.

But first, a little context. Deriveaux is one of the most remote communities I visited in Haiti. It is somewhere in the vicinity of 60 miles away from Heifer Haiti’s office in Les Cayes, but the drive took nearly four hours. The one road that takes you to Deriveaux winds around mountains and is buried by rivers a few times. More often than not, the road takes the shape of a wavy, dried out river bed. In one or two parts, locals earn money from travelers by filling in dangerously deep potholes.

All this is to say that Deriveaux is hard to get to, and more often than not, community members have only each other to rely upon. But the community is more than up to the task.

In 2004, Deriveaux community members met with the idea that they wanted to develop their community. They generally agreed that Deriveaux had problems in the areas of sanitation, education, agriculture, livestock development, infrastructure and the environment. With the formation of ASSOPADP, they started to fix those problems, and in 2010, the organization partnered with Heifer Haiti. Since that time, 40 families have received four goats each, and nine of those families have already passed on a total of 26 goats to their neighbors. Others are also preparing to Pass on the Gift. And, of course, before those families receive those goats, they will receive ample training.

Training Conversation in Deriveaux, Haiti

Responding to a training question at an ASSOPADP meeting in Deriveaux, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Telemarck Andre, a member of ASSOPADP, said the trainings have made a difference in Deriveaux.

“Before (the Heifer training), we didn’t use shelters (for the goats),” Andre said. “We used to leave them in the sun too long. Sometimes dogs would eat the goats. We treat the goats differently now.”

ASSOPADP members have received many hours of training in a variety of areas, including livestock management, soil conservation, gender equity, using natural fertilizer, food management, nutrition, agriculture and even conflict management.

The last theme actually surprised me a little bit, but it makes perfect sense. The nearest judge, law enforcement officer or other official mediator is at least a couple of hours away from Deriveaux, so the community has to be able to solve conflicts on their own. The conflict management training included the formation of a committee for mediation.

Below are few additional comments ASSOPADP members made in regard to the training experience.

Dareus Fritznel on yam production: “We used to put large yams in the ground. We cut the yams now so (we will have more yams) in the garden. Customers are more likely to buy them now, too, because they are cheaper (since they are smaller).”

Telemarck Andre on the environment: “After the training, we stopped using the top of the mountain. We (use the land) in flat areas where the garden will be perfect and won’t erode the mountain. Before, we cut the trees to make charcoal (for money). But we realized we were destroying ourselves. Now we plant the trees for soil conservation and to stop erosion. And we use fallen leaves for compost for our garden.”

Arnaud Fleurant (ASSOPADP president) on gender: “In Haiti, some people give more importance to sons. Now sons and daughters have equal importance. Before, boys didn’t do work (around the house), just girls. Now the work is shared. Families now eat together instead of having adults and children eat separately.”

Fleurant added: “The people here are strong because they received training. And (through the project) people here are sharing not only goats but training with the community.”

Arnaud Fleurant

Arnaud Fleurant, president of ASSOPADP. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

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