Microfinancing for Chickens

---

We began to finance the ladies’ chicken project in 2012 with the purchase of 100 chicks to be given to 10 women; these women set up a committee and elected a chairman and treasurer to help monitor their project. The Barry A Murphy Fund provided the funds to inoculate and feed the chicks for the first few months. It took six months for the chicks to produce their first eggs (which we enjoyed on a visit in 2013).

The women will eventually give more chicks to their neighbors and also sell eggs at their local market. They make reports each 90 days to the Barry A Murphy Fund showing their progress in production of their individual chickens. They also must show building improvement in home coops.

The Women’s Cooperative Chicken Coop was completed in December of 2021. The Fund raised 100 chickens. They were given to the village women once the coop was completed by the Barry A Murphy Fund. The coop is located next to the village offices; electricity from the solar panels on the office keeps chicks warm. The project is self-sustaining today. Women sell eggs; they give eggs to someone in need. A record of transactions is kept; the woman in need will pay the debt owed to the Cooperative.

The “chicken ladies” have a chairperson and a treasurer, as do all other village committees. The school committees have a PTA, along with other local dignitaries.

---