Rad Hazelip, our Love A Child Assistant Executive Director, helped start our Poul Mirak. He just sent an update that I want to share with you. Here is an update from Rad:
“This past June, we were coming to the scheduled close of the first phase of Poul Mirak training and mentoring, and preparing to “graduate” the first project members. These men who have been training, learning and managing Poul Mirak since it began in September of 2014 came to us with their plan to fully undertake independent management and responsibility for the chicken farm. We agreed that they seemed ready, so the transition began for the members to adopt their ideas and assume total independent operation of the chicken project. This is the ultimate goal of any development project – to have a successful transfer of the project to the people.
I visited with them for five days to observe how things are going after their first four weeks of self-reliance and I am happy to report everything looks very good! They are now making their feeds, thereby reducing their costs by almost half. Their mortality rate has dropped to less than 3% versus the 20% they experienced before. They have already pre-sold their production to wholesalers, so that they in effect are contract growers. Overall, their spirits and enthusiasm are great, the whole farm looks great and the men are showing pride of their “ownership.” They are self-reliant now and no longer depend upon Love A Child for anything other than continued mentoring and oversight.
By all development standards, Poul Mirak is a great success. We thank Mike Welch and his friends at the International Poultry Foundation whose mission is to assist establishing successful chicken projects in developing nations. Their unique model for Poul Mirak is the first of its kind anywhere and it is demonstrating that having the courage to try new ideas really can pay off. Love A Child and the community of Fond Parisien thank them for their vision and willingness to prove what can be done with proper donor support.”