By Samson Ojakol – Extension worker
Harriet Kivumbi is an unemployed house wife, and resides in Buyemba village, Busunji parish Baitambogwe Sub-County in Mayuge District, Uganda approximately 77km east of Kampala city. In this rural village Harriet lives with her husband and eight children, Sarah (16), Brenda (14), Monica (12), Ibrah (10), Janet (8), Lenah (6), Ruth (4) and Lilian (2).
The family owns five acres of land. They plant sweat potatoes, banana, maize and pasture and fodder trees for the cow. They also grow vegetables and fruits just for family consumption. Besides their old semi-permanent residential house there is a cow shed and next to it is a permanent residential house under construction. “Life was hard before I joined Baitambogwe Rural farmers Integrated Improved Livestock project.” Harriet says.
Baitambogwe integrated improved livestock farming project was founded with the goal to improve the living conditions of women, men, and youth in Baitambogwe Sub-County through increased food security and incomes, and improved environment resulting from integrated improved livestock farming. Before Harriet joined the project, her family had migrated to another district called Bugiri to do petty trade to earn a living. “Life was difficult for us.” Harriet recounts.
“One day in 2006, I had come back to see my parents in Buyemba village, I learnt of Baitambogwe project and decided to stay longer while attending trainings in Buyemba. I decided to stay while trying out what I had been taught on our 5 acres in preparation to receive a heifer. In 2007 I received a heifer and the first calf was a bull and the heifer’s production is 14-16 litres per day, more than enough for my family. The surplus is sold to the near by trading centre.” Harriet says.
The family earns about $79 per month from milk sales. The money is mainly used to pay school fees for the children and to facilitate the construction of a permanent family residential house. “In addition to income the heifer has provided us with manure and the project has equipped us with skills on how to use manure for better crop production.” Harriet explains.
Usually Harriet’s husband milks the cow, but when he is engaged in the house construction, Ibrah milks and the girls take care of cleaning the shed and providing feeds to the cow and I feed the calf. Everybody has a task about the cow. The children enjoy the tasks as well, especially the girls. They love the cow very much and they make sure the feeds are ready every morning and evening for night feeding, “every body takes a cup of fresh milk every morning.”
But there is one reason why Harriet loves her cow most of all. In the time before the heifer, Harriet’s husband had neglected her and spent a lot of time away from the home, the children had stopped studying and she hardly found food for her children. She was moving from one place to another in search of jobs. “When the heifer came home, my husband returned, my children went back to school, food was no more a rare commodity and poverty and sickness are folding back as our income and health improve.” Harriet testifies. “My husband has now joined us in developing our land, when we sold the bull calf at 300,000/= (154US$), I used US$51.4 to purchase 2,000 bricks and US$62 for 5 bags of cement for our new house and hope to finish it with the proceeds from milk sales.
Harriet is thankful to Bothar-Ireland for being mindful of the families in need. “I vowed to look after my cow so that one day it will calf down a female calf that I will pass on to another needy family.” Harriet promises. Harriet said the heifer is not only a source of milk and manure but also a uniting factor for the family members. “I am grateful to Bothar-Ireland because they gave us a valuable asset which we could not afford to buy.” Harriet concludes.
