Poultry project changing the fortunes of Kutus Muslim Community group

Five months after Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru distributed chicks to various community groups across the county to enable them to produce eggs and meat, members of Kutus Muslim Community Self Help group have now started making money from the project.

The 30-member group that operates within Kutus received 1,250 three old months old improved kienyenji chicks that have now matured. The hens have already started laying eggs while the cocks have also matured and the group is now capitalizing on demand for chicken and selling them during this festive season.

The group chairman, Yaheh Juma, has said that the project was a timely intervention by the County Government and will go a long way in economically empowering the group members. He said that they have so far sold about 100 cocks each at Ksh. 1,000.  They are targeting to sell another batch of around 500 cocks. The group has also separated layers and will be using some of the eggs to hatch some more chicks in order to restock their brood.

Juma said that they are depositing all the money from sales in the group’s savings accounts with the aim of accumulating it and creating a capital base for each of the group members to initiate their own such projects. He added that the profits are what will be divided among the members.

Since the inception of the project, the group has been receiving free chicken feeds as well as the required technical support from the County Government. The group was also trained on poultry keeping which includes daily care of the birds as well as group project management.

The group chairman said that the project will help eradicate poverty among the Muslim community in the area. “The project has received a lot of admiration from the entire community and many of them are now realizing it is possible to have a viable agricultural activity within our settlement.” Said the chairman.

He noted that at the moment they are using group members’ contributions to take care of the project requirements such as paying for a farmhand.  He added that apart from the sale of eggs and chicken for meat, they are also benefiting from the sale of chicken manure. He encouraged other community members to embrace such projects since they do not require large pieces of land.

Amina Wairimu, a member of the group members said that she has learnt a lot about poultry keeping and she has already constructed her own chicken coop in her home in readiness for a project like that.  She said that together with the other members of the group, the area out to challenge the notion that Muslims from the area cannot undertake such projects.

She said that the project has also enhanced the cohesion of their self-help group members as well as the togetherness of the community.  She added that it has also empowered women who did not have an income-generating activity before.

The group is one of the 473 community groups that have been funded by the county government to undertake various agricultural projects such as poultry keeping, pig rearing, beekeeping, tomato and avocado farming, fish and dairy farming.

Governor Waiguru said that the funded projects are part of Wezesha Kirinyaga program which is aimed at making agricultural activities translate to better incomes and improved livelihoods of the county residents.

She said that the projects will economically empower residents through enable them to diversify their agricultural activities to reduce overdependence on traditional cash crops whose prices are unreliable.