Don’t “bawk” at this chance!
Cock-a-doodle-do…have we got a gift for you! That’s right, this holiday season you can give a woman in Guatemala a starter set of chickens. The Association of Mam Christian Women for Development recently launched a new Chicken Project to address food insecurity and provide women with yet another source of income. These young (mostly male) chickens are raised for meat, not eggs. They grow quickly and are fed corn, grass and special feed to keep their meat tender, making them the preferred bird for typical Guatemalan dishes like caldo (chicken vegetable soup) and pepián (a rich, flavorful stew).
A gift of $250 provides a woman with a starter set of 20 chicks, feed,
delivery and training. Shares and gift cards are available!
Here’s how this project works:
- A qualified woman builds an approved coop and attends training.
- She then receives a starter set of 20 chicks and special feed.
- The young chickens are fattened up for three months.
- The woman sells them for meat to others in her community, keeping a few to feed her family.
- She repeats this cycle three more times – buying, fattening, and selling the chickens.
- After a full year, she returns half of the investment (about $125) back to the Association to help another woman get started.
- With her remaining profits, she continues raising chickens on her own, making this project sustainable.
This past summer, the first 35 women started this program. Other women soon witnessed the success of their friends and neighbors and asked how they could participate too. Right now, there are 82 additional women on the waiting list with more expected. Please help us expand this program!
A full starter set of chickens costs $250. Shares are available and gifts of any size are welcome. To learn more about this program or to make a gift online, visit www.ncpguatemala.com/chickens. You can also watch this new video. Thank you for supporting these amazing women!
