Life-Changing Chickens

In Nepal, if you are poor and have no children to care for you in your old age, you have a big challenge. This was the situation for Ramesh and his wife, Jaya. Their local church in Palpa wanted to help them, and tasked its social outreach team to find a sustainable way to do so. The team wisely consulted the couple, and together they made a plan.

In his younger years, Ramesh had raised chickens. Since he had never owned his own land, he had done so on other people’s farms. “My wife and I would like to raise chickens now,” he said. “There is land around us, and our landlord is willing for us to use it,” Ramesh said, “but I can’t afford to pay for the space, let alone pay for chickens.”

A small grant from DDHCFN gave Ramesh and Jaya the jump-start they needed. They purchased the necessary equipment from the local agricultural support center. Volunteers from the church helped them clear some land and build the coop.

After a rocky start the first year, Ramesh and Jaya now have a steady little business. Raising 200 chickens at a time, every 45 days they sell them to the local butcher and order new chicks to take their place.

Jaya pats the sacks piled up next to the house. The contents - chicken manure - is sold to local farmers, giving the couple a few extra rupees. “This is a good life for an old couple like us,” she says. “It keeps us busy, it pays our bills, and we have some money saved too. We are grateful. God is good.”

Ramesh & Jaya’s chicken farm is another example of the way DDHCFN partners with Nepali groups and congregations that seek to uplift needy people in their communities. Rather than providing continuous support - which thereby risks dependency - DDHCFN helps to get small projects off the ground – projects the partner and the beneficiaries themselves can maintain in the future.