Introduction and commercialization of community fish farming as a public-private partnership
We are working with the unemployed youth to develop fish ponds on idle lands, rear fish and sell them to generate income. The people constructing ponds and looking after the fish are paid a daily wage. This is reducing poverty and improving the socio-economic standards of the community.
Sobre Você
Seção 1: Sobre Você
Seção 2: Sobre a Sua Organização
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Sim
Nome da Organização
SHAMA GROUP OF COMPANIES
Página da organização na internet
Telefone da organização
41 795 414 114
Endereço da organização
Box 594, NYERI
País da organização
Quênia
Sua organização é
Privada
How long has this organization been operating?
Entre 1 e 5 anos
Sua ideia
Dê um nome ao seu projeto
Introduction and commercialization of community fish farming as a public-private partnership
Describe your Social Enterprise
We are working with the unemployed youth to develop fish ponds on idle lands, rear fish and sell them to generate income. The people constructing ponds and looking after the fish are paid a daily wage. This is reducing poverty and improving the socio-economic standards of the community.
Country your work focuses on
Quênia
INOVAÇÃO
What makes your innovation unique?
Fish farming in rural Kenya is viewed as a subsistence activity, meant to be a source of proteins for households, but not as a commercial enterprise. Since fish is eaten at the households, it is not viewed as a source of income and therefore, poor families do not invest in managing the ponds. Yet, more and more people are turning to eating fish, which is a white meat. Fish reared in ponds is also considered to be of better quality than that caught in rivers or lakes.
Commercial fish farming is considered to be an activity for large companies that can rear large numbers of fish and use economics of scale to become profitable. We are working with a rural community self help group to develop fish farming as a business, using land that has previously been under-utilized. Farmers with suitable land lease it to the group, such that each project site covers at least one acre. Other wealthier people can buy shares in the group, up to a set maximum, and the money they contribute is used for running the project. We also raise funds from donations. Sales from fish are re-invested into the project, with the anticipation that after another one year, the project will break even and become profitable.
This project is innovative because our company deals with management and marketing of fish, two areas that are usually the weak points in community based projects. It is also reducing poverty by creating employment and utilizing idle land.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impacto
Temas relacionados à inscrição
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
Three community groups, with membership ranging between 100 and 400 have been established, and two of them already have fish farms. More than 10 acres of land are under fish farming and sale of fish started in December 2008. The Kenyan government has used our project in allocating funds for community fish farming in 141 constituencies in the current financial year.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
The number of unemployed youth in rural African countries continues to grow and the sources of proteins in such areas are limited. Yet in many areas, there is plenty on idle land where common crops cannot be grown because of the amount of water in the soil. Fish farming as a business provides great opportunities to generate income as more and more people turn to eating white meat.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. Include a description of the business model. What might prevent that success?
We are leasing idle land from farmers and working with communities to make fish ponds. The unemployed youth make the ponds and earn daily wages, while project management and marketing of produce is carried out by our company in a form of public private partnership. Members of the group are employed by the company to manage the ponds and provide security at night.
Income generated from sales is used in recruiting more land
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
2008 was focused on recruitment of members, registration of groups, mobilization of funds, government approval of the project, leasing land and construction of fish ponds.
2009: Expansion of fish ponds continued. A marketing infrastructure and sale of fish started.
2010: We have been carrying out further expansion with limited support from government, and using proceeds from the sale of fish.
How many people will your project serve annually?
1.001‐10.000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Sim
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
In early 2009, we wrote an overview of the project and shared it with Kenya’s Ministry of Fisheries Development. In July of the same year, the government set aside Kshs.1.2 billion, for the establishment of 200 fish ponds in each of 141 constituencies during the current financial year.
SUSTENTABILIDADE
What stage is your Social Enterprise in?
Em execução entre 1 e 5 anos
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Não
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Não
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Sim
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Sim
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your Social Enterprise
Shama Fish and Bacon company is one of five under Shama Group of Companies. Some of them, especially Shama Academy and Shama Milk, have been operating for more than 5 years, creating the climate necessary for engagement of communities in development activities. Their experience and networks have been critical in the management of the fish farming project. Government is critical in ensuring that there is a good investment climate, providing technical expertise, and formulating national policies
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
Right now the company is managing the project on behalf of the group, and since the group has not started making any profits, we use our own money as a credit to the group. The proceeds we get from sale of fish are used to offset the debt.
A História
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Shama Milk is a very successful community based public private partnership that I started several years ago in the same region. After observation the large number of healthy unemployed youth in the area, I started thinking of something that I could propose to them, to get them engaged, while at the same time generating income. That is when i thought of ways to use the idle land.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
This idea combines social cooporate responsibility, food security, employment creation, and sustainable utilization of natural resources. I have managed to use this approach successfully in at least two other projects in the same area.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another source, please provide the information
 | 102 weeks agoJOSEPH NDUNGU submitted this idea. |