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| Enithe Luxius gives proper credit to her rabbit Jaqomy. |
Image byGeoff Oliver Bugbee
Story by Katya Cengel
Enithe Luxius pulls out a smallnotebook inside of which she has charted a family tree. There is Mr. Sedye andGermaine and their descendants Osnel, Rony and Osny. On another page is Jakoband Jacqomy and their seven descendants.
The four rabbits HeiferInternational supplied Enithe on May 12 have already multiplied to 17.
Enithe was surprised by howquickly the rabbits reproduced.
“Any time we finish a cage for oneof them we have to build another house because we know it’s going to multiply,”she said through a translator.
That is a good thing, because themore rabbits Enithe has the more money she can make by selling them. Enithe’shusband works in construction in France, while she lives with their 12-year-oldson, Richardson Tinius, in a valley in the Saint Louis du Sud region of Haiti.It is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains and crossed by rivers, but whenit rains it floods and the crops and animals are destroyed.
Last time it flooded Enithe lostsix goats. Six months ago Heifer International partnered with a localorganization to deliver 400 rabbits to 100 families in the area. Because therabbits reproduce rapidly and can be kept in cages high off the ground, thegroups felt they would provide a feasible economic opportunity for thecommunity.
Enithe seems to agree and isexcited about raising more rabbits and maybe one day saving enough money tomove to an area less prone to flooding. Of course one rabbit she won’t beselling is the prolific Jacqomy.
