I have just submitted my entry "Rabbits to the Rescue" .... and I look forward answering any questions from you as well as to interact and exchange information with others who may also be working with rabbits in Kenya and other developing countries.
Rabbit breeding is not new in Kenya and to many other countries of Africa. The scale of operation is however and very often at a household level. So a family (usually the boys) would keep a male and 1 or 2 females together and a pregnant female is moved into a separate cage when she looks "really pregnant". Sometimes the female would deliver and the other rabbits are moved out of the cage. Such an operation do provide occasional meat to the family and is a special meal for the family.
My project takes rabbit production to a larger scale where the target of a rabbit house is at least 10 kg of meat per month (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net). This means that there are at least 2 deliveries per month and there is sufficient cages for all bunnies until they grow to weigh at least 2 kg each (about 7 months old).
My target group is children at schools and at children's homes. Children manage the rabbit house and sell the rabbits to the kitchens of their school/home. Income is then deposited into a fund (micro-loan) which they have access to when they finish school. http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development) www.globetree.org
if a family wishes to produce 10 kg of rabbit meat per month, they need at least 2 litters of kits (baby rabbits) every month. Then the family needs additional cages for them to grow to weigh at least 2 kg each. Meantime you are still getting 2 litters every month. So by the time your first litter is 5 months old, you are faced with another 8 litters of rabbits. This means that the family needs to keep on building more cages.
Q: how do you solve this problem for the families ?
One suggestion is to establish "collection centers". This centers will buy the bunnies from families when they are 4-6 months old or before their mother does delivers again. This means that a family can just have 4 cages (for 1 male and 3 females) and dont need to keep them until the rabbits are big.
In a way the family operation is like a "hatchery" (like hatchery for chicks) to produce the small ones and then the collection centers are just focus at fattening the rabbits for 3-4 months.
The "Rabbits to the Rescue" project has been in operation for 1 year and serves as Phase 1 of an innovation that provides a solution to rural communities on sustainable income generation.
In Phase 1, seven institutional sites were established. While each have a role in production of meat to be sold to their own institutions, one other role is to serve as a model to students and the community.
Phase 2 of "Rabbits to the Rescue" has the community as the target and involves family households and a business operation.
There has been many small livestock programs to help families generate money that children can use for their education. E.g. Keep a pig or a goat that can be sold once a year matches the timing when school fee is needed. However, the skill of keeping a pig or a goat often does not reach a commercial operation where it becomes a regular income generation operation. With rabbits, rabbits are easy to kept at a household level.
There are 2 components in Phase 2:
(i) family households to produce the young bunnies
(ii) collection centers to raise bunnies to market size.
With 3 females, each family household can produce about 10 bunnies per month. In the Meru project area, a fair price for a young bunny is about 1 US$. This means that a family can earn 10 US$ a month.
The collection center needs to keep the rabbits for another 3-4- months and can sell each rabbit (1½ kg meat) for about 4 US$. For a collection center to be sustainable, it needs to sell at least 150 rabbits per month. At least 2 persons can be employed.
We dont have the funding yet but the recognition/award from Changemakers can be the step towards this goal.
>There are 2 components in Phase 2:
>(i) family households to produce the young bunnies
>(ii) collection centers to raise bunnies to market size.
In Meru, many families already keep 2 or 3 adult rabbits and will have at least a litter once every 2 months. If there is limited space for bunnies after 2 months, they are sold or eaten. This is a "hobby" operation for the kids. However this a sub-optimal operation could be up graded into an income generation activity with 3 females and the opportunity to increase productivity by 4 times (i.e. 2 litters every month).
Alternatively, a 4 cage structure can be provided to a participating family with 4 adult rabbits. The cages becomes the property of the family after the delivery to a "collection centre" of an agreed number of bunnies which pays for the cage structure.
Nazereth Sisters run the primary and day school with 200 children in a very rural setting. The school is located on a 30 acre farm land which the Nazareth Sisters use to cultivate crops (maize, beans, sweet potatoes, onions, arrow root, etc) and fruits (mango, papaya, avocado) for the Convent and for a secondary school where there is a meat demand of about 10 kg per week.
The school charges a low fee of about 12,000 Ksh per year (~140 Euros). In such a rural community, 1000 Ksh per month is a lot of "cash" to the community of farmers. The school is not self-sustaining yet for its operation and also rely on external funds to provide the children a decent and balanced lunch.
There are always some parents are are unable to continue to pay school fees especially then there are others in the family. So the Nazareth Sisters accept labor as a form of payment. Such parents work in the farm.
I invited some Canadian friends to visit the school in Feb. They were so very impressed by the efforts that they sponsored two of the children. In return, a parent of a sponsored child would work on the farm for 2 days a week and will also help to collect feed (grass) for the rabbits. Farm labour is about 100 Ksh per day (about 1.50 US$).
The taller kids take care of the 2 cages in each section that are about 1 meter above the ground. http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0617-s600.jpg. These cages keep adult rabbits for producing kits. When the kits are 6-8 weeks old, they are then moved down.
We designed the house this way so that each section kids can form their "team" of older and younger ones.
This is the first rabbit house that was built (April 2008).
At the CGC Home where there are 140 vulnerable children, meat is served once a week. 10 kg of beef is purchased at about 240 Ksh per kg with bones (<3.00 US$). This means each child get about 70 gms. It is not much but it is something that the children look forward to.
So the aim of the rabbit house is that children would produce rabbit meat (10 kg per month or achieve 3 litter deliveries of kits each month) and then sell it once a month to the CGC Home. The income generated would go to a micro-loan fund and the children can borrow this money after they finish Class 8. Some of them will not be able to go to secondary school.
As this is the first rabbit house in the project, it has been supplying rabbits (about 15 bunnies @150-200 Ksh each or 2-3US$) to the 2 other project sites (Limuru and Kahawa West). So the children have not sold a 10-kg batch of meat to their Home yet. Unfortunately there were two major incidents that swipped off all the young bunnies. The first was a disease from a new batch of rabbits that we bought. We lost 3 months of work. Then the second time was because of poor management at the Home which affected the routines at the rabbit house. I visited this site in 07 March and 3 females have delivered kits last month. http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0812-s700.jpg
The system for rabbit meat production uses the principles of the "Integrated Biosystem" approach which I advocated when I was with the United Nations University in the 90s.
That is : how do you design projects that will use an under-utilised resource or waste to produce at least two products.
In the case of rabbit meat production, we are using grass and vegetable residues (as inputs) to produce meat, skin and sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes is another resource where the leaves, stems and tubers can be used fully. All these can go to the rabbits and it serves as an emergency feed esp. during the rainy days when children find it difficult to go out to collect grass.
Thank you for sharing this innovation. I like the idea that the children are at the centre of this innovation. I can see it being easily integrated into the work done by schools that our partners are working with and I will share your information with them. Your project should be more sustainable where there is an existing interest in gardening.
The rabbit house can also be designed as an upper story of a house for free range chickens so that the chickens can feed on the pieces of food that the rabbits have a habit of dropping. This design will also result in the mixing of the two types of manure producing very good material for composting.
Best wishes with for your good work
Mugove Walter Nyika
ReSCOPE Programme, Malawi www.rescopeprogramme.org
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Reconnecting with nature: Permaculture design for African abundance
Habitat (Mugove Walter Nyika) wrote:
>Your project should be more sustainable where
>there is an existing interest in gardening.
In the context of feed, rabbit rearing needs sufficient "greens". "Greens" can be cultivated or maybe available as an under-utilised resource (such as grass, weeds, leaves from trees) or as a waste (agricultural residue, kitchen waste).
A reason for having my project sites at schools/children's homes is also because of the kitchen wastes.
The farm manager and 2 parents (http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0506-s700.jpg) (in a program "work for cash" because they cannot pay school fees of their girls at Muthambi Girls High School) bring in at least 2 sacks of weeds daily (the 9 girls do it during the weekends). These are the by-product of weeding the shamba.
The sacks are left outside the rabbit house (sometimes contents are spread out for drying). http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0734-s600.jpg . Rabbits are fed by these ladies in the morning and the girls do it in the afternoon.
The school kitchen serves 701 students and some 50 staff members generate a regular supply of vegetable residues and peelings everyday (even on Sat and Sun, rain or shine; except when school is closed during the holidays). This is an important source of feed for the rabbits.
>Your project should be more sustainable where
>there is an existing interest in gardening.
True.... it is one of many criteria for selection of a site and one of many factors that can contribute to the success of the project.
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regards
Jacky Foo www.globetree.org
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
Mugove Walter Nyika suggested:
>The rabbit house can also be designed as an upper story of a house for
>free range chickens so that the chickens can feed on the pieces of food
>that the rabbits have a habit of dropping. This design will also result
>in the mixing of the two types of manure producing very good material
>for composting.
yes....... some people have integrated rabbit and chicken rearing together. This is done when rabbits are fed with pelleted feed and where wire cages are used. Here some pellets and crumbs drop through the wire floor of the cages and the chickens can have them.
At all the 7 rabbit project sites, none of them use pellets (current price is about 35 Ksh per kg 0.50 US$). Further in a rural setting where greens are still in abundance, and where the general population earning <50 US$ per month (3500 Ksh), they just dont use commercial pelleted feed.
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regards
Jacky Foo, Globetree, Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
Coordinator of Integrated Biosystems Network (since 1995), IOBB
(1) We provide much more living space than the guidelines provided by the Animal Welfare Act (see Humane Society of the USA, http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/species_used_in_research/rabbit....)
- a rabbit between 4.4 and 8.8 pounds must be given at least 3 square feet of floor space, 14 inches from floor to ceiling
- rabbits between 8.8 to 11.9 pounds must be given 4 square feet of floor space, and 14 inches in height. - Females with litters are given slightly more space.
This is a "charity school" which is managed by catholic Sisters. The Center has a primary and secondary school and a dispensary on 3.7 acres of land. The schools have 300 boarders (boys and girls) and 20 day students (2008). A good number of them are sponsored children and have been some been in conflict with the law. So they have been through probation hostels but I found them to the nicest people to work with. All of them really appreciate the unique opportunity to be involved in the project and to be part of something good. http://www.changemakers.net/files/DSC07326-s600.JPG http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_2661-s700.jpg
The school compound includes farm land (of about 2000 m2 (½ acre) with fruit trees, banana, sugar cane, vegetables, cows and pigs).
In Sept 2008, we constructed a 16-cage rabbit house using an old dis-used chicken house. The project went well and in March 2009 we improved it and built a second layer of cages into a 32-cage rabbit house. With this set-up they should be able to have 5 deliveries per month (instead of 3) to produce at least 20 kg of meat per month (with a value of 4000 Ksh or 50 US$) .
Traditionally, the keeping of rabbits in Kenya is a "boy's hobby".
In Meru District, when I visited several homes to look for rabbits to stock our rabbit houses, the parents would often say:
"those rabbits belong to my son. I have to ask him if he wants to sell the young ones".
Another observation is that many homes just keep 2 or 3 adult rabbits and do not look at it as a means for income generation. Earlier initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture were targeted at the private households and that rearing rabbits was a means to provide some animal meat for the family. many families got their first rabbits from the Ministry of Agriculture.
This project is therefore innovative because :
(i) it is done at an organizational level
(ii) the project is "production" oriented, i.e. the children know they have to meet a minimum number of deliveries (litters of kits) every month. They know they need to breed the adults in order to achieve the target. They keep records and they know when a mated female needs to be moved to the "maternity ward".
(iii) there is already a demand of meat by the school or children's home and income will be generated.
(iv) income is also accounted and saved. It does not go into anyone's pocket.
(v) the minimum breeding stock of a rabbit house is 8 does (females). Thus the experience and skills gained by children can be applied immediately for a large scale operation and/or their rabbit houses can be expanded easily for a larger scale operation.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development) www.globetree.org
Its a good innovation and Rabbit keeting in Meru is more of an attitude change than the lack of rabbits. The adults have always viewed the rabbits as a small boys pet and thus no body else in the families understand that they can use the rabbit both for food and income. Many people can easily be changed the way of thinking by training and empowering them understand the nutrtional aspect of the rabbits. Let the families understand that they can use the rabbit for food and also it can be an alternative income when they sell the chicken and use the rabbits. This is because the market as not yet appreciated the rabbit.
Start with women and young farmers. Let the rabbit keeping not only be for the 4 K clubs in schools as this is where we forget the adults. Involve both the children and the adults in the rabbit keeping to enable the adults appreciate and support the projects.
You wrote:
>Rabbit keeping in Meru is more of an attitude change than
>the lack of rabbits. The adults have always viewed the rabbits
>as a small boys pet and thus no body else in the families
>understand that they can use the rabbit both for food and income.
I agree that many Kenyan adults view the rabbits as a small boy's pet and that rearing is a boy's job.
I do not fully agree (as there are always exceptions) that
>no body else in the families understand that they can use the rabbit
>both for food and income.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has .... many year back .... advocated and organized training courses on rabbit ("sungura") keeping in Kenya as an additional source of protein from a "small animal" for the family. I also indicated that many of the families I visited got their first rabbits under this program. Here is a reference to a publication :
Ministry of Livestock Development. 1981.
Rabbit Production. Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development.
(Copies can be obtained from the Agricultural Information Centre, P.O. Box 14733, Nairobi, Kenya).
I am in the opinion that in general ... boys (esp. in a rural setting) keep/rear rabbits for their meat and not as "pets". (i.e. pets are not to be slaughtered for meat).
However I would certainly agree with you Margaret ...... that rabbits does not have the same status of commercialisation as a source of commercial meat as what goats, sheep and cattle have.
You still rarely find rabbit in the restaurant menu as a Nyama Choma (grilled meat) in Kenya despite the fact that rabbits are stewed or grilled at home. Safari Park Hotel is an exception and I did not get rabbit meat in "Carnivore" (a BBQ restaurant serving game meat). Nakumatt (a supermarket Group) wants to sell rabbit meat but does not have a supplier.
But I believe there are isolated commercial demands but there is no supply.
I wrote:
>But I believe there are isolated commercial demands but there is no supply.
(contd ...... as a new message due to number of characters limitation at Changemakers.net)
by "no supply" .... I do not mean there is a lack of rabbits locally but there is no organized supply for collection and marketing.
When the news was spread in Marima that Muthambi Girls High School was buying rabbits for the project, several kids came to us to announce that they have rabbits for sale. We did buy from them.
You can say that the rabbit project (www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net) will (and probably for the first time in Kenya) introduce rabbit as a meat in boarding schools and children's homes.
During the training course on "Food self-reliance" in Aug 2008 that I organized, we served rabbits to 26 participants at Tumaini Center, Nairobi. The participants were all going for rabbit meat because they already know it is better than the beef stew that was served and that it taste like chicken. Rabbit was not a "strange" meat to them.
I hope to see rabbits served more often during meetings and conferences.
- rabbits between 8.8 to 11.9 pounds must be given 4 square feet of floor space, and 14 inches in height. - Females with litters are given slightly more space.
To ensure sustainability and continuity of a project there is need to have a long-term plan for securing financial backing and community support. For the rabbit project, I have been fortunate to have a start-up funding (2008) from the Swedish Government (through SIDA/Forum Syd) and from Fondation Pour les Autres via the Swedish Catholic Church (2009) where there is a further opportunity for an extension (2009/2010).
All 7 sites contributed to the project by providing the land space that is required to build the rabbit houses.
Others contributed more :
2 of them gave their un-used sheds that were converted into rabbit houses.
1 of them matched the budget with 40,000 Ksh (total budget 80,000 Ksh)
3 of them contributed timber
After the construction of each rabbit house, the operational cost is minimal.
Since we dont use pelleted feeds, and that grass, vegetable wastes/residues are the primary feed for the rabbits, there is no costs for feeds. Existing farm workers and the school children collect the feed and take care of the rabbits. The project does not pay for labour and there is no need for a paid staff for the project. In secondary schools, the agriculture teacher is directly involved in the project and some of the students who choose agri-projects are then included in the rabbit project.
The rabbit project used a rather strict guidelines for the selection of sites. The selection process included site visit(s), feasibility study and discussion(s) to outline the adherence to the concept. http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
We also studied the history of rabbit production in Kenya to understand hurdles that we will still have to face. These preparatory steps have facilitated the development of stronger partnerships.
All the 7 project partners are members of the "Rabbit Network Kenya" (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/contact-us.htm) and they communicate via a Yahoo email group. Those who dont have email communicate via the coordinators.
The rabbit project used a rather strict guidelines for the selection of sites. The selection process included site visit(s), feasibility study and discussion(s) to stress the concept. http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
We also studied the history of rabbit production in Kenya to understand hurdles that we will still have to face. These preparatory steps have facilitated the development of stronger partnerships.
All the 7 project partners are members of the "Rabbit Network Kenya" (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/contact-us.htm) and they communicate via a Yahoo email group.
Those who dont have email communicate via the coordinators.
The Network also has "associate members" who are rabbit farmers (http://www.globetree.org/africa/assoc-members/index.htm). They can provide support by phone and are also the potential buyers of rabbits.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
In my first meeting with the students, they were good listeners but passive. By the time we had our 3rd meeting, they were bubbling with ideas and giving suggestions on how to improve the suggested routines.
One of the girls self-appointed herself as the "recorder". We keep a record book that tracks the cages (what rabbits are in a particular cage), records for each breeding stock rabbit (for each male and each female). This role of this person is very important... she is the watch-dog who will know which doe needs to be moved to the "maternity ward" and which doe needs to be mated.
The role of the children is also suported by the school principal. Picture was taken during the blessing of the rabbit house which was attended by the whole school (701 students). http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0706-s600.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development) http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
At the Children's Garden Home in Kawangware, the rabbit house became the meeting place for a group boys.
To foster leadership, the key to the rabbit house was given to a boy (class 5 student).
He accepts this leadership role with many responsibilities :
* organise the daily collection of grass, feeding and cleanliness of the rabbit house
* follow a breeding scheme for the females
* to be knowledgeable about rabbits.
When I started with the boys, they were poor in maths, and the calender days. Now if you give them the date of birth of a rabbit, they are quick in telling you the age of the rabbit in weeks or days.
the original purpose of the rabbit activity was skills training for vulnerable children, street children and children on probation. The project has given them a "purpose" and a "duty". This may be "short-term" for some of them but you can see a fantastic and positive social change in them.
At the Children's Garden Home in Kawangware, the rabbit house became the meeting place for a group boys.
To foster leadership, the key to the rabbit house was given to a boy (class 5 student). He accepts this leadership role with many responsibilities :
* organise the daily collection of grass, feeding and cleanliness of the rabbit house * follow a breeding scheme for the females
* to be knowledgeable about rabbits.
When I started with the boys, they were poor in maths, and the calender days. Now if you give them the date of birth of a rabbit, they are quick in telling you the age of the rabbit in weeks or days.
the original purpose of the rabbit activity was skills training for vulnerable children, street children and children on probation. The project has given them a "purpose" and a "duty". This may be "short-term" for some of them but you can see a fantastic and positive social change in them. http://www.changemakers.com/files/DSC07215-s700.JPG http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_1031-s700.jpg http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0842-s700.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Q: Why is the project considered as a systematic and disruptive innovation in farming and rural communities
The project is something new or different because it changes to the norms in caring of rabbits in Kenya. Traditionally it is the boys who take care of rabbits or they are the ones "entitled" to take care of the rabbits.
The project breaks this norm to provide girls with the same opportunity .... but still continues to encourage boys to work together with girls.
In fact the girls are really enjoying themselves. When it comes to breeding and mating the rabbits, the boys are rather shy about the process. The girls seem to look at the process differently and were more focus at he results of the mating and what will happen in a months time ...where else the boys were thinking of the mating activity that was happening at that moment.
In secondary schools, the school curriculum provides agriculture and home economics courses. These courses include practical exercises, e.g. bakery or field work in crop production. Crop production is a preferred choice (to goats and cows) since a product is generated in 3-5 months.
The rabbit projects in Secondary schools now provide a unique opportunity for the students since a study cycle is a minimum of 2 months (mating and delivery) only. Incorporation into the school curriculum will ensure that the rabbit projects will continue at their schools. Another use of rabbits (and frogs) is for the practicals in biology classes. Agricultural training on rabbit will be of great practical useful (and impact).
Students can now return home during their holidays and start rabbit production at their homes.
>Students can now return home during their holidays
>and start rabbit production at their homes.
there has been a proposal that at the end of agriculture "rabbit" course for secondary school students, each student would receive a male and a female rabbit. They can go home with these rabbits and start their rabbit production at home quickly.
I believe the school will have a budget for "materials" and the bunnies that the students will receive maybe (?) covered through this budget.
We have rabbit houses at the secondary schools in
Maria Immaculata Educational Center, Kahawa West
Stephjoy Girls Secondary School, Limuru
Muthambi Girls High School, Marima
Makuri Girls High School, Chogoria
see http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net for details
Comments
I have just submitted my entry "Rabbits to the Rescue" .... and I look forward answering any questions from you as well as to interact and exchange information with others who may also be working with rabbits in Kenya and other developing countries.
Rabbit breeding is not new in Kenya and to many other countries of Africa. The scale of operation is however and very often at a household level. So a family (usually the boys) would keep a male and 1 or 2 females together and a pregnant female is moved into a separate cage when she looks "really pregnant". Sometimes the female would deliver and the other rabbits are moved out of the cage. Such an operation do provide occasional meat to the family and is a special meal for the family.
My project takes rabbit production to a larger scale where the target of a rabbit house is at least 10 kg of meat per month (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net). This means that there are at least 2 deliveries per month and there is sufficient cages for all bunnies until they grow to weigh at least 2 kg each (about 7 months old).
My target group is children at schools and at children's homes. Children manage the rabbit house and sell the rabbits to the kitchens of their school/home. Income is then deposited into a fund (micro-loan) which they have access to when they finish school. http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
www.globetree.org
Your comment is welcomed:
if a family wishes to produce 10 kg of rabbit meat per month, they need at least 2 litters of kits (baby rabbits) every month. Then the family needs additional cages for them to grow to weigh at least 2 kg each. Meantime you are still getting 2 litters every month. So by the time your first litter is 5 months old, you are faced with another 8 litters of rabbits. This means that the family needs to keep on building more cages.
Q: how do you solve this problem for the families ?
One suggestion is to establish "collection centers". This centers will buy the bunnies from families when they are 4-6 months old or before their mother does delivers again. This means that a family can just have 4 cages (for 1 male and 3 females) and dont need to keep them until the rabbits are big.
In a way the family operation is like a "hatchery" (like hatchery for chicks) to produce the small ones and then the collection centers are just focus at fattening the rabbits for 3-4 months.
Looking forward to your comments !
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regards
Jacky Foo
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
The "Rabbits to the Rescue" project has been in operation for 1 year and serves as Phase 1 of an innovation that provides a solution to rural communities on sustainable income generation.
In Phase 1, seven institutional sites were established. While each have a role in production of meat to be sold to their own institutions, one other role is to serve as a model to students and the community.
Phase 2 of "Rabbits to the Rescue" has the community as the target and involves family households and a business operation.
There has been many small livestock programs to help families generate money that children can use for their education. E.g. Keep a pig or a goat that can be sold once a year matches the timing when school fee is needed. However, the skill of keeping a pig or a goat often does not reach a commercial operation where it becomes a regular income generation operation. With rabbits, rabbits are easy to kept at a household level.
There are 2 components in Phase 2:
(i) family households to produce the young bunnies
(ii) collection centers to raise bunnies to market size.
With 3 females, each family household can produce about 10 bunnies per month. In the Meru project area, a fair price for a young bunny is about 1 US$. This means that a family can earn 10 US$ a month.
The collection center needs to keep the rabbits for another 3-4- months and can sell each rabbit (1½ kg meat) for about 4 US$. For a collection center to be sustainable, it needs to sell at least 150 rabbits per month. At least 2 persons can be employed.
We dont have the funding yet but the recognition/award from Changemakers can be the step towards this goal.
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regards
Jacky Foo
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
>There are 2 components in Phase 2:
>(i) family households to produce the young bunnies
>(ii) collection centers to raise bunnies to market size.
In Meru, many families already keep 2 or 3 adult rabbits and will have at least a litter once every 2 months. If there is limited space for bunnies after 2 months, they are sold or eaten. This is a "hobby" operation for the kids. However this a sub-optimal operation could be up graded into an income generation activity with 3 females and the opportunity to increase productivity by 4 times (i.e. 2 litters every month).
Alternatively, a 4 cage structure can be provided to a participating family with 4 adult rabbits. The cages becomes the property of the family after the delivery to a "collection centre" of an agreed number of bunnies which pays for the cage structure.
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regards
Jacky Foo
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
The rabbit house at Our Lady of Annunciation Primary School, Ndekero (Meru District, Kenya) is one of the 7 rabbit houses built. see
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0613-s700.jpg
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_3150-ws.jpg
Nazereth Sisters run the primary and day school with 200 children in a very rural setting. The school is located on a 30 acre farm land which the Nazareth Sisters use to cultivate crops (maize, beans, sweet potatoes, onions, arrow root, etc) and fruits (mango, papaya, avocado) for the Convent and for a secondary school where there is a meat demand of about 10 kg per week.
The school charges a low fee of about 12,000 Ksh per year (~140 Euros). In such a rural community, 1000 Ksh per month is a lot of "cash" to the community of farmers. The school is not self-sustaining yet for its operation and also rely on external funds to provide the children a decent and balanced lunch.
There are always some parents are are unable to continue to pay school fees especially then there are others in the family. So the Nazareth Sisters accept labor as a form of payment. Such parents work in the farm.
I invited some Canadian friends to visit the school in Feb. They were so very impressed by the efforts that they sponsored two of the children. In return, a parent of a sponsored child would work on the farm for 2 days a week and will also help to collect feed (grass) for the rabbits. Farm labour is about 100 Ksh per day (about 1.50 US$).
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regards
Jacky Foo
http://www.globetree.org/africa/ndekero/index.htm
Rabbit houses are designed specifically for each specific site.
In Ndekero (http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0613-s700.jpg, built in Feb 2009 and launched on 04 March 09), the target group is children at the pre-school unit and the primary school. So the working height for the cages (to feed and clean) at this rabbit house is low (compare it with those at Muthambi Girls High School (http://www.globetree.org/africa/muthambi/index.htm).
The bigger Ndekero kids are still just below my shoulders in their heights.
(http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0642-s600.jpg)
The rabbit house is divided into 4 sections (6 feet wide each).
(http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0613-s700.jpg)
Each section allows 2 smaller kids to enter and take care of those rabbits at the ground level. http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0614-s600.jpg
The taller kids take care of the 2 cages in each section that are about 1 meter above the ground.
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0617-s600.jpg. These cages keep adult rabbits for producing kits. When the kits are 6-8 weeks old, they are then moved down.
We designed the house this way so that each section kids can form their "team" of older and younger ones.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
Rabbit House at Children's Garden Center, Kwangware, Nairobi
http://www.changemakers.net/files/DSC07215-s700.JPG
This is the first rabbit house that was built (April 2008).
At the CGC Home where there are 140 vulnerable children, meat is served once a week. 10 kg of beef is purchased at about 240 Ksh per kg with bones (<3.00 US$). This means each child get about 70 gms. It is not much but it is something that the children look forward to.
So the aim of the rabbit house is that children would produce rabbit meat (10 kg per month or achieve 3 litter deliveries of kits each month) and then sell it once a month to the CGC Home. The income generated would go to a micro-loan fund and the children can borrow this money after they finish Class 8. Some of them will not be able to go to secondary school.
As this is the first rabbit house in the project, it has been supplying rabbits (about 15 bunnies @150-200 Ksh each or 2-3US$) to the 2 other project sites (Limuru and Kahawa West). So the children have not sold a 10-kg batch of meat to their Home yet. Unfortunately there were two major incidents that swipped off all the young bunnies. The first was a disease from a new batch of rabbits that we bought. We lost 3 months of work. Then the second time was because of poor management at the Home which affected the routines at the rabbit house. I visited this site in 07 March and 3 females have delivered kits last month.
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0812-s700.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo, Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/cgg/cgk/rabbit.htm
The system for rabbit meat production uses the principles of the "Integrated Biosystem" approach which I advocated when I was with the United Nations University in the 90s.
That is : how do you design projects that will use an under-utilised resource or waste to produce at least two products.
In the case of rabbit meat production, we are using grass and vegetable residues (as inputs) to produce meat, skin and sweet potatoes.
See picture on planting sweet potatoes (may 2008) in
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0806-s600.jpg
Children collect wastes from the rabbit house to make compost.
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_1031-s700.jpg
Sweet potatoes is another resource where the leaves, stems and tubers can be used fully. All these can go to the rabbits and it serves as an emergency feed esp. during the rainy days when children find it difficult to go out to collect grass.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
Thank you for sharing this innovation. I like the idea that the children are at the centre of this innovation. I can see it being easily integrated into the work done by schools that our partners are working with and I will share your information with them. Your project should be more sustainable where there is an existing interest in gardening.
The rabbit house can also be designed as an upper story of a house for free range chickens so that the chickens can feed on the pieces of food that the rabbits have a habit of dropping. This design will also result in the mixing of the two types of manure producing very good material for composting.
Best wishes with for your good work
Mugove Walter Nyika
ReSCOPE Programme, Malawi
www.rescopeprogramme.org
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Reconnecting with nature: Permaculture design for African abundance
Habitat (Mugove Walter Nyika) wrote:
>Your project should be more sustainable where
>there is an existing interest in gardening.
In the context of feed, rabbit rearing needs sufficient "greens". "Greens" can be cultivated or maybe available as an under-utilised resource (such as grass, weeds, leaves from trees) or as a waste (agricultural residue, kitchen waste).
A reason for having my project sites at schools/children's homes is also because of the kitchen wastes.
The farm manager and 2 parents (http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0506-s700.jpg) (in a program "work for cash" because they cannot pay school fees of their girls at Muthambi Girls High School) bring in at least 2 sacks of weeds daily (the 9 girls do it during the weekends). These are the by-product of weeding the shamba.
The sacks are left outside the rabbit house (sometimes contents are spread out for drying).
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0734-s600.jpg . Rabbits are fed by these ladies in the morning and the girls do it in the afternoon.
The school kitchen serves 701 students and some 50 staff members generate a regular supply of vegetable residues and peelings everyday (even on Sat and Sun, rain or shine; except when school is closed during the holidays). This is an important source of feed for the rabbits.
>Your project should be more sustainable where
>there is an existing interest in gardening.
True.... it is one of many criteria for selection of a site and one of many factors that can contribute to the success of the project.
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regards
Jacky Foo www.globetree.org
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
Mugove Walter Nyika suggested:
>The rabbit house can also be designed as an upper story of a house for
>free range chickens so that the chickens can feed on the pieces of food
>that the rabbits have a habit of dropping. This design will also result
>in the mixing of the two types of manure producing very good material
>for composting.
yes....... some people have integrated rabbit and chicken rearing together. This is done when rabbits are fed with pelleted feed and where wire cages are used. Here some pellets and crumbs drop through the wire floor of the cages and the chickens can have them.
At all the 7 rabbit project sites, none of them use pellets (current price is about 35 Ksh per kg 0.50 US$). Further in a rural setting where greens are still in abundance, and where the general population earning <50 US$ per month (3500 Ksh), they just dont use commercial pelleted feed.
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regards
Jacky Foo, Globetree, Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
Coordinator of Integrated Biosystems Network (since 1995), IOBB
Q: What would prevent your project from being a success?
Animal Rights Groups protest the manner in which commercial rabbitries are designed and how rabbits are kept as well as how they are slaughtered.
I dont think the projects presented in http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net will not face such protests.
(1) We provide much more living space than the guidelines provided by the Animal Welfare Act (see Humane Society of the USA, http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/species_used_in_research/rabbit....)
- a rabbit between 4.4 and 8.8 pounds must be given at least 3 square feet of floor space, 14 inches from floor to ceiling
- rabbits between 8.8 to 11.9 pounds must be given 4 square feet of floor space, and 14 inches in height. - Females with litters are given slightly more space.
Muthambi Girls High School has out-door cages where rabbits can also do some exercise.
see
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0504-s600.jpg
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0500a-600.jpg
At the end of the day, this is what happens to the grass lawn
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0446-s600.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
www.globetree.org
MIEC= Maria Immaculata Educational Center.
This is a "charity school" which is managed by catholic Sisters. The Center has a primary and secondary school and a dispensary on 3.7 acres of land. The schools have 300 boarders (boys and girls) and 20 day students (2008). A good number of them are sponsored children and have been some been in conflict with the law. So they have been through probation hostels but I found them to the nicest people to work with. All of them really appreciate the unique opportunity to be involved in the project and to be part of something good.
http://www.changemakers.net/files/DSC07326-s600.JPG
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_2661-s700.jpg
The school compound includes farm land (of about 2000 m2 (½ acre) with fruit trees, banana, sugar cane, vegetables, cows and pigs).
In Sept 2008, we constructed a 16-cage rabbit house using an old dis-used chicken house. The project went well and in March 2009 we improved it and built a second layer of cages into a 32-cage rabbit house. With this set-up they should be able to have 5 deliveries per month (instead of 3) to produce at least 20 kg of meat per month (with a value of 4000 Ksh or 50 US$) .
MIEC already had 1,450 Ksh (20 US$) in its Micro-Loan Fund.
MIEC is a promising site and Globetree is seeking for donations
(see http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/donations.htm#donation)
because of the number of vulnerable children.
Some of them remain at the school during the holidays because they have no where to go.
For the design of the cages see:
http://www.changemakers.net/files/DSC07196-s600.JPG
http://www.changemakers.net/files/DSC07310-s600.JPG
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0457-s600.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
www.globetree.org
Traditionally, the keeping of rabbits in Kenya is a "boy's hobby".
In Meru District, when I visited several homes to look for rabbits to stock our rabbit houses, the parents would often say:
"those rabbits belong to my son. I have to ask him if he wants to sell the young ones".
Another observation is that many homes just keep 2 or 3 adult rabbits and do not look at it as a means for income generation. Earlier initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture were targeted at the private households and that rearing rabbits was a means to provide some animal meat for the family. many families got their first rabbits from the Ministry of Agriculture.
This project is therefore innovative because :
(i) it is done at an organizational level
(ii) the project is "production" oriented, i.e. the children know they have to meet a minimum number of deliveries (litters of kits) every month. They know they need to breed the adults in order to achieve the target. They keep records and they know when a mated female needs to be moved to the "maternity ward".
(iii) there is already a demand of meat by the school or children's home and income will be generated.
(iv) income is also accounted and saved. It does not go into anyone's pocket.
(v) the minimum breeding stock of a rabbit house is 8 does (females). Thus the experience and skills gained by children can be applied immediately for a large scale operation and/or their rabbit houses can be expanded easily for a larger scale operation.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
www.globetree.org
Its a good innovation and Rabbit keeting in Meru is more of an attitude change than the lack of rabbits. The adults have always viewed the rabbits as a small boys pet and thus no body else in the families understand that they can use the rabbit both for food and income. Many people can easily be changed the way of thinking by training and empowering them understand the nutrtional aspect of the rabbits. Let the families understand that they can use the rabbit for food and also it can be an alternative income when they sell the chicken and use the rabbits. This is because the market as not yet appreciated the rabbit.
Start with women and young farmers. Let the rabbit keeping not only be for the 4 K clubs in schools as this is where we forget the adults. Involve both the children and the adults in the rabbit keeping to enable the adults appreciate and support the projects.
Dear Margaret Ikiara
You wrote:
>Rabbit keeping in Meru is more of an attitude change than
>the lack of rabbits. The adults have always viewed the rabbits
>as a small boys pet and thus no body else in the families
>understand that they can use the rabbit both for food and income.
I agree that many Kenyan adults view the rabbits as a small boy's pet and that rearing is a boy's job.
I do not fully agree (as there are always exceptions) that
>no body else in the families understand that they can use the rabbit
>both for food and income.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries has .... many year back .... advocated and organized training courses on rabbit ("sungura") keeping in Kenya as an additional source of protein from a "small animal" for the family. I also indicated that many of the families I visited got their first rabbits under this program. Here is a reference to a publication :
Ministry of Livestock Development. 1981.
Rabbit Production. Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development.
(Copies can be obtained from the Agricultural Information Centre, P.O. Box 14733, Nairobi, Kenya).
I am in the opinion that in general ... boys (esp. in a rural setting) keep/rear rabbits for their meat and not as "pets". (i.e. pets are not to be slaughtered for meat).
However I would certainly agree with you Margaret ...... that rabbits does not have the same status of commercialisation as a source of commercial meat as what goats, sheep and cattle have.
You still rarely find rabbit in the restaurant menu as a Nyama Choma (grilled meat) in Kenya despite the fact that rabbits are stewed or grilled at home. Safari Park Hotel is an exception and I did not get rabbit meat in "Carnivore" (a BBQ restaurant serving game meat). Nakumatt (a supermarket Group) wants to sell rabbit meat but does not have a supplier.
But I believe there are isolated commercial demands but there is no supply.
I wrote:
>But I believe there are isolated commercial demands but there is no supply.
(contd ...... as a new message due to number of characters limitation at Changemakers.net)
by "no supply" .... I do not mean there is a lack of rabbits locally but there is no organized supply for collection and marketing.
When the news was spread in Marima that Muthambi Girls High School was buying rabbits for the project, several kids came to us to announce that they have rabbits for sale. We did buy from them.
You can say that the rabbit project (www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net) will (and probably for the first time in Kenya) introduce rabbit as a meat in boarding schools and children's homes.
During the training course on "Food self-reliance" in Aug 2008 that I organized, we served rabbits to 26 participants at Tumaini Center, Nairobi. The participants were all going for rabbit meat because they already know it is better than the beef stew that was served and that it taste like chicken. Rabbit was not a "strange" meat to them.
I hope to see rabbits served more often during meetings and conferences.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Q: What would prevent your project from being a success?
Animal Rights Groups protest the manner in which commercial rabbitries are designed and how rabbits are kept as well as how they are slaughtered.
I dont think the projects presented in http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net will not face such protests.
(1) We provide much more living space (http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0457-s600.jpg) than the guidelines provided by the Animal Welfare Act (see Humane Society of the USA, at http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/species_used_in_research/rabbit....) - a rabbit between 4.4 and 8.8 pounds must be given at least 3 square feet of floor space, 14 inches from floor to ceiling
- rabbits between 8.8 to 11.9 pounds must be given 4 square feet of floor space, and 14 inches in height. - Females with litters are given slightly more space.
Muthambi Girls High School has out-door cages where rabbits can also do some exercise. see
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0504-s600.jpg
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0500a-600.jpg
At the end of the day, this is what happens to the grass lawn
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0446-s600.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
To ensure sustainability and continuity of a project there is need to have a long-term plan for securing financial backing and community support. For the rabbit project, I have been fortunate to have a start-up funding (2008) from the Swedish Government (through SIDA/Forum Syd) and from Fondation Pour les Autres via the Swedish Catholic Church (2009) where there is a further opportunity for an extension (2009/2010).
All 7 sites contributed to the project by providing the land space that is required to build the rabbit houses.
Others contributed more :
2 of them gave their un-used sheds that were converted into rabbit houses.
1 of them matched the budget with 40,000 Ksh (total budget 80,000 Ksh)
3 of them contributed timber
After the construction of each rabbit house, the operational cost is minimal.
Since we dont use pelleted feeds, and that grass, vegetable wastes/residues are the primary feed for the rabbits, there is no costs for feeds. Existing farm workers and the school children collect the feed and take care of the rabbits. The project does not pay for labour and there is no need for a paid staff for the project. In secondary schools, the agriculture teacher is directly involved in the project and some of the students who choose agri-projects are then included in the rabbit project.
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----------
regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/20304
The rabbit project used a rather strict guidelines for the selection of sites. The selection process included site visit(s), feasibility study and discussion(s) to outline the adherence to the concept.
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
We also studied the history of rabbit production in Kenya to understand hurdles that we will still have to face. These preparatory steps have facilitated the development of stronger partnerships.
All the 7 project partners are members of the "Rabbit Network Kenya" (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/contact-us.htm) and they communicate via a Yahoo email group. Those who dont have email communicate via the coordinators.
The Network also has "associate members" who are rabbit farmers (http://www.globetree.org/africa/assoc-members/index.htm). They can provide support by phone and are also the potential buyers of rabbits.
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----------
regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/20304
The rabbit project used a rather strict guidelines for the selection of sites. The selection process included site visit(s), feasibility study and discussion(s) to stress the concept.
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/concept.htm
We also studied the history of rabbit production in Kenya to understand hurdles that we will still have to face. These preparatory steps have facilitated the development of stronger partnerships.
All the 7 project partners are members of the "Rabbit Network Kenya" (http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net/contact-us.htm) and they communicate via a Yahoo email group.
Those who dont have email communicate via the coordinators.
The Network also has "associate members" who are rabbit farmers (http://www.globetree.org/africa/assoc-members/index.htm). They can provide support by phone and are also the potential buyers of rabbits.
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----------
regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
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----------
regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/20304
One social impact (on-site) is the cultivation of commitment and leadership through a process of children's participation.
Let us take the case of the rabbit house at Mutambi Girls High School.
http://www.globetree.org/africa/muthambi/index.htm
In my first meeting with the students, they were good listeners but passive. By the time we had our 3rd meeting, they were bubbling with ideas and giving suggestions on how to improve the suggested routines.
One of their initiatives is the allocation list with their names and the cages each of them are taking care.
see image in http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0501-s600.jpg
One of the girls self-appointed herself as the "recorder". We keep a record book that tracks the cages (what rabbits are in a particular cage), records for each breeding stock rabbit (for each male and each female). This role of this person is very important... she is the watch-dog who will know which doe needs to be moved to the "maternity ward" and which doe needs to be mated.
The role of the children is also suported by the school principal. Picture was taken during the blessing of the rabbit house which was attended by the whole school (701 students).
http://www.changemakers.net/files/IMG_0706-s600.jpg
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----------
regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
At the Children's Garden Home in Kawangware, the rabbit house became the meeting place for a group boys.
To foster leadership, the key to the rabbit house was given to a boy (class 5 student).
He accepts this leadership role with many responsibilities :
* organise the daily collection of grass, feeding and cleanliness of the rabbit house
* follow a breeding scheme for the females
* to be knowledgeable about rabbits.
When I started with the boys, they were poor in maths, and the calender days. Now if you give them the date of birth of a rabbit, they are quick in telling you the age of the rabbit in weeks or days.
the original purpose of the rabbit activity was skills training for vulnerable children, street children and children on probation. The project has given them a "purpose" and a "duty". This may be "short-term" for some of them but you can see a fantastic and positive social change in them.
http://www.changemakers.com/files/DSC07215-s700.JPG
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_1031-s700.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0842-s700.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org
At the Children's Garden Home in Kawangware, the rabbit house became the meeting place for a group boys.
To foster leadership, the key to the rabbit house was given to a boy (class 5 student). He accepts this leadership role with many responsibilities :
* organise the daily collection of grass, feeding and cleanliness of the rabbit house * follow a breeding scheme for the females
* to be knowledgeable about rabbits.
When I started with the boys, they were poor in maths, and the calender days. Now if you give them the date of birth of a rabbit, they are quick in telling you the age of the rabbit in weeks or days.
the original purpose of the rabbit activity was skills training for vulnerable children, street children and children on probation. The project has given them a "purpose" and a "duty". This may be "short-term" for some of them but you can see a fantastic and positive social change in them.
http://www.changemakers.com/files/DSC07215-s700.JPG
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_1031-s700.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0842-s700.jpg
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regards
Jacky Foo
Q: Why is the project considered as a systematic and disruptive innovation in farming and rural communities
The project is something new or different because it changes to the norms in caring of rabbits in Kenya. Traditionally it is the boys who take care of rabbits or they are the ones "entitled" to take care of the rabbits.
The project breaks this norm to provide girls with the same opportunity .... but still continues to encourage boys to work together with girls.
See images of
(i) Boys and Girls from Maria Immaculata Educational Center
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_2661-s700.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/DSC07279-s600.jpg
(ii) Girls and ladies from Muthambi Girls High School
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0506-s700.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0500a-600.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0706-s600.jpg
http://www.changemakers.com/files/IMG_0728-s700.jpg
In fact the girls are really enjoying themselves. When it comes to breeding and mating the rabbits, the boys are rather shy about the process. The girls seem to look at the process differently and were more focus at he results of the mating and what will happen in a months time ...where else the boys were thinking of the mating activity that was happening at that moment.
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regards
Jacky Foo
Program Officer (Environment and Sustainable Development)
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
In secondary schools, the school curriculum provides agriculture and home economics courses. These courses include practical exercises, e.g. bakery or field work in crop production. Crop production is a preferred choice (to goats and cows) since a product is generated in 3-5 months.
The rabbit projects in Secondary schools now provide a unique opportunity for the students since a study cycle is a minimum of 2 months (mating and delivery) only. Incorporation into the school curriculum will ensure that the rabbit projects will continue at their schools. Another use of rabbits (and frogs) is for the practicals in biology classes. Agricultural training on rabbit will be of great practical useful (and impact).
Students can now return home during their holidays and start rabbit production at their homes.
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regards
Jacky Foo
http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net
>Students can now return home during their holidays
>and start rabbit production at their homes.
there has been a proposal that at the end of agriculture "rabbit" course for secondary school students, each student would receive a male and a female rabbit. They can go home with these rabbits and start their rabbit production at home quickly.
I believe the school will have a budget for "materials" and the bunnies that the students will receive maybe (?) covered through this budget.
We have rabbit houses at the secondary schools in
Maria Immaculata Educational Center, Kahawa West
Stephjoy Girls Secondary School, Limuru
Muthambi Girls High School, Marima
Makuri Girls High School, Chogoria
see http://www.globetree.org/africa/rabbit-net for details
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regards
Jacky Foo