For one of the sessions today, I attended something called 'The Goat Project'. There were some other interesting topics, like leadership and libraries, at the same time, and as much as I wanted to go to those, I could do that in a conference in any other country. This project, on the other hand, isn't something I will have many other chances to learn about. As a result, I decided to take the opportunity to discover something new.
The Goat Project is something that Terre Froide has already done in the past through their youth organisation, l'Association pour le Développement Culturel des Jeunes de Terre Froide or just ADCJTF (The Association for the Cultural Development of the Youth in Terre Froide).
What is the Goat Project-
Basically, they get a female goat and a male goat to breed. The offspring are then distributed to different youth within the community. The person who receives a goat has to take care of it and can eventually kill or sell it, if necessary.
Purpose-
There are several different purposes to this project, all of which I find really interesting.
In some sorts, it's micro financing... Haitian style. It teaches them business, responsibility, the importance of taking care of animals and more. It can also help them if they are ever stuck financially.
In order to be able to sell the goat or its meat, it has to be well fed and healthy. Taking care of the animal teaches them to be responsible and also shows them how to support something other than themselves and their families. This project can additionally teach them- only to a limited extent since they might end up killing the goat- animal rights. I've noticed that animal abuse is a big problem here and the Goat Project shows them the importance of taking care of the animals, instead of hurting them. If they don't, then they won't be able to sell or trade it, thus destroying the micro financing aspect of the structure.
For micro financing, since they don't have any products to sell, they've adapted the system to something that they do have. Once they've learned responsibility, how to take care of animals and so on, they can then sell the goat. They could either kill the goat and sell the meat and/or hair coats, keep the goat alive and sell only the hair or, they could sell the live goat. If they do end up killing the goat, but decide they don't want to sell it, they could also use the animal's coat, and eat the meat; keep it for themselves.
This is important because, you never know, things could go wrong and they could end up with no money. But, if they need it, this allows them to have a back up. In some senses, it's a security blanket: the goat can either be food for them to eat or it could supply them with the money they need to buy food.
Process-
All they really have to do, as a community, is fundraise to buy one or more pairs of goats. I checked with one of the families here who already have one and they said they weren't expensive to buy. This means that the first steps of the project are: fundraising, buying the goats, and getting them to mate. Volunteers or project leaders take care of the parent goats. While the offspring are getting to the right age at which they can leave their mother, evaluations are being run in the community. The leader(s) of this project go and find households that need the benefits of the program most and that are fit to take care of the goats (won't end up abusing them. Once the baby goats are ready, the chosen households will get the offspring. Meanwhile, the parents will continue to mate, which means the project continues for more "rounds".
Since the community didn't have to buy the offspring- only the two parents- the chosen families don't have to pay to receive their goat. As a result, the family won't be in any sort of debt or financial trouble due to their participation in the program.
They are included in the project without having to pay anything, which shows it is affordable and the system keeps going until the parents can't mate anymore, which shows it is sustainable.
Thoughts-
Personally, I find this concept really interesting. It's a good example of Haitians using the resources that they do have to help themselves. It additionally shows how Haitians, generally, never give up; they are all determined to do what is in their power to help their community to advance. Even though they don't have the means to start typical micro financing, they are still able to make their own system and that's really cool. They are being independent and self-sufficient through this project, and on top of that, the fact that it's sustainable and not too costly is also great. All in all, the project is really unique and I am glad I attended this session.
LM
The Goat Project is something that Terre Froide has already done in the past through their youth organisation, l'Association pour le Développement Culturel des Jeunes de Terre Froide or just ADCJTF (The Association for the Cultural Development of the Youth in Terre Froide).
What is the Goat Project-
Basically, they get a female goat and a male goat to breed. The offspring are then distributed to different youth within the community. The person who receives a goat has to take care of it and can eventually kill or sell it, if necessary.
Purpose-
There are several different purposes to this project, all of which I find really interesting.
In some sorts, it's micro financing... Haitian style. It teaches them business, responsibility, the importance of taking care of animals and more. It can also help them if they are ever stuck financially.
In order to be able to sell the goat or its meat, it has to be well fed and healthy. Taking care of the animal teaches them to be responsible and also shows them how to support something other than themselves and their families. This project can additionally teach them- only to a limited extent since they might end up killing the goat- animal rights. I've noticed that animal abuse is a big problem here and the Goat Project shows them the importance of taking care of the animals, instead of hurting them. If they don't, then they won't be able to sell or trade it, thus destroying the micro financing aspect of the structure.
For micro financing, since they don't have any products to sell, they've adapted the system to something that they do have. Once they've learned responsibility, how to take care of animals and so on, they can then sell the goat. They could either kill the goat and sell the meat and/or hair coats, keep the goat alive and sell only the hair or, they could sell the live goat. If they do end up killing the goat, but decide they don't want to sell it, they could also use the animal's coat, and eat the meat; keep it for themselves.
This is important because, you never know, things could go wrong and they could end up with no money. But, if they need it, this allows them to have a back up. In some senses, it's a security blanket: the goat can either be food for them to eat or it could supply them with the money they need to buy food.
Process-
All they really have to do, as a community, is fundraise to buy one or more pairs of goats. I checked with one of the families here who already have one and they said they weren't expensive to buy. This means that the first steps of the project are: fundraising, buying the goats, and getting them to mate. Volunteers or project leaders take care of the parent goats. While the offspring are getting to the right age at which they can leave their mother, evaluations are being run in the community. The leader(s) of this project go and find households that need the benefits of the program most and that are fit to take care of the goats (won't end up abusing them. Once the baby goats are ready, the chosen households will get the offspring. Meanwhile, the parents will continue to mate, which means the project continues for more "rounds".
Since the community didn't have to buy the offspring- only the two parents- the chosen families don't have to pay to receive their goat. As a result, the family won't be in any sort of debt or financial trouble due to their participation in the program.
They are included in the project without having to pay anything, which shows it is affordable and the system keeps going until the parents can't mate anymore, which shows it is sustainable.
Thoughts-
Personally, I find this concept really interesting. It's a good example of Haitians using the resources that they do have to help themselves. It additionally shows how Haitians, generally, never give up; they are all determined to do what is in their power to help their community to advance. Even though they don't have the means to start typical micro financing, they are still able to make their own system and that's really cool. They are being independent and self-sufficient through this project, and on top of that, the fact that it's sustainable and not too costly is also great. All in all, the project is really unique and I am glad I attended this session.
LM
