Ndeye Top, 52, is the president of the poultry production cooperative in the community of Thieneba. She lives with her four children and two grandchildren. Ndeye is proud of her village, where “there is solidarity among neighbors” and where her children are able to receive a good education. Ndeye says that “Since CREATE!’s arrival, we have seen many changes in this community. We now have clean drinking water and fresh vegetables. CREATE!’s programs improve the lives of rural women.” She adds, “As a poor woman, it was very difficult for me to take care of my family. But thanks to CREATE!, it is now possible.”
Ndeye says that the poultry production project in Thieneba is a “profitable business that brings us many benefits.” She adds that cooperative members “appreciate the value of training in poultry cultivation, which we always thought was impossible in our community.” The training is “innovative and practical.” Women in Thieneba no longer need to travel long distances to purchase meat for their families. Ndeye is proud that families now “eat chicken that we produce ourselves in Thieneba.”
Members of the Thieneba poultry cooperative have purchased solar lights for their poultry shed. Nighttime light reduces stress in the chickens.
Ndeye says that participating in CREATE!’s poultry production training program has changed her life. “Before CREATE!,” she says, “my family was rarely able to eat chicken. Now that we raise our own chickens in Thieneba, we frequently have it. I now know all the technical aspects of caring for chicks throughout their lives. I also have my own poultry shed at my home.”
Ndeye is also pleased that she now knows not just how to raise chickens, but also how to market them. “Marketing,” she adds, “is done on site and at a price set in advance by the cooperative.” The cooperative is able to save close to $100 in profit from each batch of chickens sold in market.
Ndeye adds, “Before CREATE! came to Thieneba, women stayed in their homes without anything to do. CREATE! taught us that men and women must work to develop themselves and their communities. CREATE! has given us everything we need to support our village forever.”
After learning how to properly raise and manage poultry in cooperative groups, many women in Thieneba, including Ndeye Top, have built their own poultry sheds at their homes.