Amount of grant approved (£): 1,920
Year of Grant: 2021
This project aims to increase financial security and support social empowerment of older people in Muleba District through a revolving goat scheme. Specifically, this project aims to initiate a sustainable revolving goat scheme for older people in Muleba District and implement effective monitoring system to measure changes in beneficiaries livelihoods` over time.
Nearly 82 per cent of Tanzania’s older people lives rurally where they are vulnerable to poverty, food insecurity, and restricted access to social services, and limited options for livelihoods security. They are further subject to the double protection bind of both needing care and protection in their older years as well as needing to fulfill the parenting gap as providers of care for children, grandchildren, and ageing spouses in their care.
Therefore, owning livestock mean old people will be more financially secure as goats can be sold to pay for food, healthcare, clothing, school fees for their grandchildren, or housing improvements. The goats provide insurance for the older people and will allow them to respond to unexpected changes in their circumstances. In turn this will contribute to older people empowerment and ending poverty by leaving no one behind.
Trainings were organized in 5 wards. 40 groups with average of 5 members per each were trained on goat husbandry, disease control, corral building and the handover process between 15th October and 29th October 2021. Training was an essential component of the project in order to equip older people with the necessary knowledge and skills to best look after their goats, which we expect to have lengthened the goats’ survival rates.
The picture above shows training session in Ijumbi ward and Buhangaza ward. Training was delivered by local extensional officer and Kwa Wazee staff.
Old people were expected to construct sheds before they receive goats, so that goats are safe and protected during the rainy season. The trained groups members were given one two weeks from training to build their sheds. The groups had to provide materials for the shed construction themselves – as their contribution and commitment to the project.
Kwa Wazee staff procured goats from within the local area over the period of three weeks. It has been noted that goats have a better survival rate when they are accustomed to the environment, so goats were bought as locally as possible.
Goats purchased were 40 female and 8 male for breeding. The local extensional officer visited collection shed to check the goat’s health and age before distribution. The allocation of goats were made as follows: 12 goats in Ijumbi, 12 goats in Buhangaza, 12 goats in Kagoma, 8 goats in Kasharunga and 4 goats in Nshamba ward.
Progress Report April 2022
Between January-March 2022, Kwa Wazee visited 40 groups to determine goats` progress and other group activities. Our visit aimed to check progress of goats, group involvement in keeping goat, other group activities done by group members and achievements. In our visits we observed that 4 goats have reproduced kids of which 3 are male kids and 1 is does kid. Also 6 goats were observed to be pregnant.
Group members have reported on their experience on these first three months of keeping goats. Most of them have reported on using manure to fertilize banana trees. These are some of recorded reports from group member from Buhangaza ward:
“I can now use goats` manure to fertilize my banana trees. I think in coming month my shamba will be producing more bananas”
One of group members from Kagoma Ward explained how happy he is after seeing their goat has reproduced.
Moreover, four goats have reproduced kids of which 3 are male kids and 1 female kid. Also 9 goats are pregnant and they are expected to reproduce in next months. We are convinced that the goats will be able to reproduce kids in coming months.
During this period, two goats (one in Buhangaza ward and one in Ijumbi ward) were dead. In our visits shortly after we got information, we discovered that the cause of death was flu and cough which was caused by high rainfall since end of March 2022. Also, other group members from Nshamba ward and Kasharunga have reported that high rainfall during March and April has caused spread of flu and cough to their goats. Extensional officers around project areas have been reached for request of assistance to investigate goats` conditions during this period and advise on effective means of reducing further risks. We are planning to distribute another goats to those groups during this month.
Read the update report here!
