- In what way are the Bóthar projects sustainable?
- What makes Bóthar projects successful?
- What kind of training do the families undertake before receiving the animal?
- Are the animals well cared for?
- Do the animals receive enough fodder and water?
- What is a zero-grazing unit and why are they used?
- What is a biogas unit?
- How many countries do you operate in?
- What kinds of different animals are used?
- Can I find out the name and location of the family that my donation is helping?
In what way are the Bóthar projects sustainable?
Bóthar encourages and facilitates sustainable development in all the projects we support in a number of ways. The codependent ecology of plants and animals is evident in all of our projects, where plants and tree plots are established alongside our livestock, thus maximizing the gains of both. In the case of our heifer projects, manure is used as a natural fertilizer while animal urine is used as an insecticide which in turn leads to the improved production of the plants and fodder which returns again to the cycle to feed the animals. In this way both the stock of the beneficiary and the surrounding plant life mutually prosper.
With regards to financial sustainability, revolving funds and micro-credit loans established in many of our projects allow people to purchase animals or goods, while the repayment of the loan--or the reimbursement of the fund--allows for the next phase of the project to take place without an additional external financial support. In this way, the project becomes self-sustaining and increasingly stable over time.
In all cases, local management committees are set up and project members trained in all aspects necessary to run the project themselves, giving them ownership of the project; those that receive an animal are required to pass on the offspring to another member of the project. So, the beneficiary becomes a donor and, and the original donation continually multiplies.
These expenses are met from a number of sources through subvention from Heifer International, the American partner organisation of Bóthar which provides the infrastructural framework for Bóthar projects in recipient countries using Bóthar animals, and from a small number of private donors. ^ top
What makes Bóthar projects successful?
The use of livestock allows for successful development, because an animal and its produce are far more than simple sources of food and improved nutrition for recipient families. The animals are also a great source of income. Adding a dairy goat to a small-scale farm can increase the yield up to three times greater than a farm without livestock, just by using manure as fertilizer and urine as pesticide for crops. Greater yield, in turn, means more produce to sell, and the soil is continually and holistically replenished, allowing for longer-term cultivation. Also, utilising the by-products of livestock in different ways can mean greater income for a recipient family. For example, turning milk into butter or yoghurt not only means that beneficiaries have this produce readily available and won’t have to spend money to purchase this food themselves, but creating an added-value product such as butter or yoghurt means additional produce to sell at the local market and, therefore, additional income for the family.
Along with the nutritional and financial benefits of using livestock in development, there are also the longer term benefits inherent in the multiplying effect of revolving funds and the simple fact that each beneficiary gives an animal to another project member equal to that which they themselves received, means that the initial donation of that animal continues indefinitely through the repeated giving of the progeny of subsequent generations to others in the community who find themselves in need. ^ top
What kind of training do the families undertake before receiving the animal?
Training is largely dependent on the existing knowledge base and varies with local conditions and goals for the project. For Bóthar’s projects involving livestock, training can be broken down into three initial stages:
- Beneficiaries receiving livestock are trained in animal husbandry, including what kind of feed the animal will need, how harvesting should be handled (such as extracting honey or milk) and how to combat and prevent local diseases.
- Project recipients then receive training on unit construction and maintenance, involving instruction on the making of a fish pond or zero-grazing pen, for example.
- Recipients receive instruction on making feed available—like training on fodder cultivation for the animal or increased pollen production by planting of flowering trees to make pollen available for bees.
This initial training is followed by subsequent educational programmes offered to community groups, training that vary from HIV/AIDS awareness to drought mitigation to micro-enterprise, where the goal of the training is to both address and combat local problems and also to lay the foundations for the ongoing success of the projects themselves.^ top
Are the animals well cared for?
As Bóthar project recipients know, it is in the farmer’s best interest to provide the best possible care for his or her livestock. The knowledge that improved care leads to improved productivity compels the beneficiaries to take great care for their animals for the simple reason that the health and wellbeing of the animal is directly linked to the owner’s own prosperity. Seeing as the animals are the primary source of income for project families and the fact that the farming is done on an easily manageable scale means that in many cases the animal lives for several years longer than they would in large scale farming enterprises. To many families, the animal’s importance is such that it is treated very much so as part of the family. ^ top
Do the animals receive enough fodder and water?
All recipients are trained in fast-growing fodder planting, or an equivalent depending on the animal involved. Bóthar’s animals are never placed in areas where water availability does not meet the needs of the animal. In addition to this, water conservation and irrigation are widely practiced ensuring the availability of water in drier periods. ^ top
What is a zero-grazing unit and why are they used?
The zero grazing unit, used mainly for housing cows and goats, serves a dual purpose of both protecting the animal from disease in the open and effectively utilising the available space. Most recipients do not have enough land to openly graze a cow, nor can they afford the loss of an animal to disease. A zero-grazing unit is built to attend to those needs.
The zero-grazing unit is constructed of locally-available materials and has several separate areas, one each for milking, feeding and sleeping, one for offspring and also an enclosed exercise space. As goats and cows sent from Ireland have little immunity to local diseases, it is important that they be kept separate from local breeds to stave off infection and the serious problems that that inevitably brings. These specially-constructed pens ensure a healthier living environment for the animals.
But probably the most important by-product in utilizing a zero-grazing pen for livestock is the manure and urine collected. Project recipients are instructed in holistic agricultural techniques that utilize these resources as natural fertilizer and pesticide. A small-scale farm can sometimes triple its yield by simply using manure as fertilizer and urine as pesticide for crops. ^ top
What is a biogas unit?
A biogas unit is a dome capped concrete pit wherein animal manure is fermented and digested by bacteria and as a consequence of this decomposition, biogas (a gas fuel derived from the decay of organic matter) is released and collected for later use in both the cooking of food and lighting of households. The dried manure that remains after the process is used as a highly rich fertilizer, greatly improving the production of vegetables and fodder. ^ top
How many countries do you operate in?
Bóthar are working in 35 countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. To learn more about the Bóthar project countries please visit our Interactive map. ^ top
What kinds of different animals are used?
Bóthar are working with over 16 species of livestock all over the world. To learn more about the Bóthar animals please visit our learn about our animals section^ top
Can I find out the name and location of the family that my donation is helping?
Bóthar cannot give you information about individual families in our project countries, it would be very time consuming for our staff in the field and Bóthar would like this time to be spent helping our project families with their training and needs. Also sending back information on individual families would also increase our administration costs, so less of your money would go to the families that you want to help.
Bóthar do keep in contact with our project families through its field offices so that we can ensure that they are benefiting from their livestock and training. You can also receive updates on our project countries through the Bóthar newsletter the Bó Vine ^ top
