Plucking a Brighter Future through Chicken Rearing

Gabrielle Wlaker, 19 year-old Poultry Farmer living in Mount Vernon

As part of the project, Gabrielle received 100 chickens in May 2009 and effectively charted a new path. Prior to that she “use to plant pepper with my father (an ex-banana worker) and carrot” but now she has created her own enterprise. With the help of her family “I sell (chickens) to people in Morant Bay; I sell to restaurants and household,” she informs with a smile, noting that she has earned well-needed income. The biggest money I made when I sold chickens one time is $15, 000,” she shared shyly.

In terms of how she goes about securing her market, which can sometimes prove a challenge for many farmers across the country, Gabrielle says “when I have chicken to be ready in 6 weeks, I start looking the market 4 weeks before, so I already look the market before the chicken ready.” The young business woman also networks with key persons in the area to secure orders. She credits some of her business savvy to the training she has received from the project. “We get marketing training and training from RADA,” she emphasized.

In spite of the gains made so far however, her main challenge lies in collecting money from sales. “Sometimes you don’t get the money from the market same time sometimes it takes 1 month to get the money,” she explains. But Gabrielle is equal to the task and plans to keep raising chickens in the New Year.
In fact, the young farmer intends on using her profits to pay her tuition for nursing school, after the baby. “That is the plan and if I go to school I will raise the chicken same way,” she notes in recognition of the sustainable value of her business. Ultimately Gabrielle feels that the “project has been good to me so far and it has helped the community to be involved in (development) activities.”

Trecia Madden, Poultry Farmer living in Mount Vernon

The Creating Sustainable Livelihoods project came about following the decline of the local banana industry, from which many women earned their living. In December 2008, the livelihoods project first engaged community members in committees to identify areas of concern and then later provided tangible benefits such as providing cash crops, chickens and other livestock for farming.
In a bid to produce and market chickens on a collective basis, Gabrielle and the other 27 beneficiaries in Mount Vernon who rear chicken will soon benefit from the construction of a slaughterhouse which is expected to provide more favourable facilities. The slaughterhouse will be completed within a few weeks.