Chicken Expert...who would have thought?

It's been awhile since I have posted on the blog. I've been very busy and time seems to fly. I have many projects on the farm. The main projects that I’m devoting my time to are installing an irrigation system, creating a chicken business, and finding and cultivating an area for the 16 families to have their own area to farm. The chicken business is the project that will generate a lot of money for the village. I’m learning more about chickens then I ever thought possible. Who knew that I would go to Rwanda and return an expert on raising chickens…I sure didn’t! I’m creating a business plan and marketing materials for the business. Right now the plan is to bring 2,400-3,000 birds…I’m going to have lots of babies now. I’ve been meeting with an Israeli man in Kigali and learning the whole process of raising hens. We also had some visitors come two days ago that are creating a hens laying egg business with about 10,000 chickens. These men work for Tyson Chicken and an NGO called Bridge to Rwanda. The man from Tyson gave me so much useful information. I learned that the most important way to know the health of the flock is by the uniformity of the size of the birds. You also have to have the same person caring for them or they can get depressed. They are going to be such a great contact and opportunity for me to learn more. I showed them around the village…they were so impressed and it made me realize how special this place is…it’s nice to have people come to remind me.

The man who cares for the chickens is one of my favorite workers to interact with on the farm. He’s an older man that usually wears shirts that are practically down to his knees. I’ve never admired someone so much that I don’t even speak the same language. You can tell that he hasn’t had the easiest life but he’s one of the sweetest people. As I said, we don’t speak the same language but I enjoy conversing with him through hand gesters, grunts, and a little Kinyarwanda. I’ve gotten good at guessing what people are saying based on the context. He works more hours than anyone on the farm. He spends lots of the day collecting grass for the hens. There’s a special kind here that helps to make the yoke yellow (the Rwandans dislike what they call “modern” chickens which usually have white yokes but by giving the grass, they will turn yellow). I love watching him bring in the grass. The hens follow him around until he gives them the grass.

Last night all the volunteers had a meeting at the director’s house. He said, “You know Amy that you have the best job in the village.” I totally agree!