In terms of what we've done, we conducted a survey of 46 households in the Kasaali cluster and 29 households in the Kyotera cluster on 16 and 23 July with the generous help of some community members who helped in the interviewing. The surveys revealed significant differences in levels of households’ access to their main sources of water. While none of the households in Kasaali surveyed were more than 2 km away from their water source, with most of them less than 1 km away, it was found that seven of the 29 households in Kyotera were upwards of 3 km away from their nearest water source, with one household surveyed 10 km from their water source and another household indicating that they buy their water. It was explained by a UWESO staff member that rainwater harvesting tanks were constructed in Kasaali under a joint program with UN-HABITAT, but Kyotera missed out due to lack of funding. A survey of roughly 15 households in each of UWESO’s clusters completed for the UWESO Head Office in December 2007 had also revealed a great need in Kyotera for better access to water.
In light of this, I have decided to postpone bringing the project to Kyotera in favor of exploring the possibility of starting a small rainwater harvesting program which would work on a payback system as well for sustainability purposes. More surveys will be conducted as part of my work with UWESO in another cluster called Kyakonda. In the event that I am able to get more funding and the community thinks that it will benefit them, I may try to bring the pigs project to them as well.
This week will be dedicated to finalizing the model and the plan for implementing it in Kasaali. I will be going to the field tomorrow, so I should be able to sit with Kasaali and see if the current model will work or, if not, what changes can be made so that it can work. There will also be some technical issues to address, such as who will be designated as caretakers, and it has been suggested that a committee within the cluster would be helpful in coordinating the implementation, so perhaps documenting who has been selected for that as well. Anyways, I will be more consistent about updating from here on out...hopefully.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
About the Project
The Pigs for Capital Growth and Food Security Project
Communities of the Rakai District, Kasaali Sub-county, specifically the Kasaali and Kyotera clusters of UWESO
The VSLA will initially own 3 pigs communally, all female, and between 9 and 10 months old
VSLA responsibilities:
1. choose the caretaker of the pigs and compensate the caretaker with one pig from the first offspring
2. choose members to form a pig project committee to monitor the project
3. provide the materials for construction of a pig pen and funding for food for the pigs and any medical treatment for the pigs
4. provide at least one other VSLA with three female pigs and training on the program and pig care each cycle
5. may receive pigs from another VSLA only once within a cycle
6. decide at the end of the cycle how many pigs will be sold and how many will remain with the VSLA to start the next cycle
Caretaker responsibilities:
1. receive training on pig care
2. report any problems that may arise to the pig project committee in a timely fashion, regardless of whether or not there is a meeting scheduled
3. build a pig pen and provide food and any medical treatment necessary for the pigs
Distribution of profits:
The profits from each pig will be divided among all 25 members in the form of shares. For example, two pigs will be sold at 50,000USH, so if a VSLA has decided to designate shares to be worth 500 USH, then four shares (2,000USH) will be added to each member’s record of shares, including that of the buyer. These shares can be added to the start-up shares, since there is a limit on the number of shares that can be bought per meeting. This essentially means that the actual price paid by the buyer for each pig will be 48,000USH.
Additional efforts toward sustainability:
UWESO will be providing training and start up materials to additional VSLAs in the communities, especially those that have spontaneously developed, without the direction of the UWESO staff and trainers.
Communities of the Rakai District, Kasaali Sub-county, specifically the Kasaali and Kyotera clusters of UWESO
The VSLA will initially own 3 pigs communally, all female, and between 9 and 10 months old
VSLA responsibilities:
1. choose the caretaker of the pigs and compensate the caretaker with one pig from the first offspring
2. choose members to form a pig project committee to monitor the project
3. provide the materials for construction of a pig pen and funding for food for the pigs and any medical treatment for the pigs
4. provide at least one other VSLA with three female pigs and training on the program and pig care each cycle
5. may receive pigs from another VSLA only once within a cycle
6. decide at the end of the cycle how many pigs will be sold and how many will remain with the VSLA to start the next cycle
Caretaker responsibilities:
1. receive training on pig care
2. report any problems that may arise to the pig project committee in a timely fashion, regardless of whether or not there is a meeting scheduled
3. build a pig pen and provide food and any medical treatment necessary for the pigs
Distribution of profits:
The profits from each pig will be divided among all 25 members in the form of shares. For example, two pigs will be sold at 50,000USH, so if a VSLA has decided to designate shares to be worth 500 USH, then four shares (2,000USH) will be added to each member’s record of shares, including that of the buyer. These shares can be added to the start-up shares, since there is a limit on the number of shares that can be bought per meeting. This essentially means that the actual price paid by the buyer for each pig will be 48,000USH.
Additional efforts toward sustainability:
UWESO will be providing training and start up materials to additional VSLAs in the communities, especially those that have spontaneously developed, without the direction of the UWESO staff and trainers.
UWESO and Its Communities
UWESO is an indigenous, non-governmental, interdenominational and non-political development agency working to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda, with programs targeting children themselves, their households and their communities. It works through grass roots community groups called clusters. These clusters select their own members from the community, are comprised of 35-200 members and usually meet once a week. UWESO has well established programs in four main areas: Food Security & Nutrition, Health, Social Economic Empowerment, and Education & Child Protection. Informal interviews with the staff regarding present efforts by the office here have indicated that, within this region, the most sustainable of the main areas is the Social Economic Empowerment area, more specifically, the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). VSLAs are comprised of 10 to 25 members of a cluster, chosen by themselves, and allow for members to have a safe way to save money and make loans among themselves. In the past, they have operated only from their own savings and the service charges paid by members who take out loans. The VSLAs also form Social Funds, which require an agreed upon deposit by every member and can be used as a kind of insurance, for example, in the event that there is a death in a member’s family. For accountability purposes, members share out at the end of a cycle, which is usually a year. These associations have not only thrived on their own regardless of UWESO’s funding resources but have continued to multiply, even without the guidance or the training of the UWESO staff. The need for food security is also very evident in the villages, as the responsibility of providing food for several OVCs often falls upon a single adult, and conversations with the communities themselves and the staff have indicated that pigs would greatly benefit the communities because they multiply very quickly, are relatively more resistant to disease, and produce relatively large numbers of offspring. For more information on UWESO, its communities and its programs you are welcome to visit their website at www.uweso.org.
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