Kanyendara’s goat and sheep rearing project

Community Background

The community of Kanyendara was created in 2000 by the government in an effort to organize returning refugees into villages and facilitate the provision of social services. Initially, most community members lived in thatched grass houses, which both failed to prevent rainwater from dripping through the roof and could easily catch fire during the dry season. In order to create safer living conditions, the government sensitized community members to the safety concerns associated with grass houses and began providing money and expertise to help families build mud-brick homes with metal roofs. Since improving their living conditions, members of Kanyendara still face many development challenges including severe food insecurity and a lack of income generating opportunities.

While each household has a small plot of land to grow beans and potatoes, due to the rocky volcanic soil, their land is not productive and families are unable to grow enough food to meet the needs of their families. Unable to find jobs in Rwanda, a majority of men from the community are migrant laborers traveling several hours north to Uganda where they work for two weeks at a time, cultivating other people’s land. For two weeks of labor, men earn around 10,000 Rwf ($17 USD). During their meetings with Spark MicroGrants, the community decided to address the problems of food insecurity and income generation.

Community-Designed Solution

Kanyendara community members will use their microgrant to purchase 66 goats and 41 sheep, providing each household with an animal. The community plans to use the manure from their animals as fertilizer in their fields in order to increase their yields and improve food security. After their animal reproduces, community members will be able to sell their animals at the local market, thus generating additional income. Community members plan to use this additional income to buy health insurance, pay school fees, and purchase mattresses. Each household has committed to building a pen to house their animal as their contribution to the project.