Poultry project lays golden egg for special needs school

Nassir Mohammed, the teacher in-charge of the poultry farming project at Kidimu School for the Deaf in Lunga Lunga sub-county, Kwale County. The project was funded and supported by Base Titanium. PHOTO | FADHILI FREDRICK | NMG

What you need to know:

  • The project funded and supported by Base Titanium was started at the school in November last year.
  • The project is now becoming a success story some four months after the chicken started laying eggs.
  • Mr Mohammed adds that laying chickens are currently 800 and are very productive and consume at least 100kg of feeds daily.
  • The major sources of their market is African Eco Safaris as well as local traders who buy in large quantities.

Poultry farming is the new pride of 42 pupils at Kidimu School for the Deaf in Lunga Lunga sub-county, Kwale County.

The future of the children, a majority of them coming from humble backgrounds, seems brighter as they can now learn poultry farming skills and earn some income.

The project funded and supported by Base Titanium was started at the school in November last year.

To start the project, Mr Nassir Mohammed, the teacher in-charge of the project, says they were given 1,000 day-old chicks as start up capital by the mining firm, with an aim of generating a sustainable income for the school.

They were also provided with feeds, vaccines, feeders, drinkers and other utilities.

Apart from providing valuable income to the school, the project also supplements the pupils diet.

"We provide children with eggs on specific days to supplement their diet and sell the rest at market rates," he said.
But the project is not without challenges in fact, mortality at the beginning was high as they lost 200 chicks.

"We have now kept diseases at bay by combining farm hygiene practises and vaccinating the birds on time and above all we have a worker who has knowledge in poultry farming," he says, adding that the worker is a big asset for the success of the project.

The project is now becoming a success story some four months after the chicken started laying eggs.

Mr Mohammed says the Isa breed takes five to six months to mature and lay eggs for 18 months of the production period before they stop.

With an average sale of 660 trays of eggs a month, the school earns at least Sh211,200.

IMPROVE SCHOOL'S INFRASTRUCTURE

"Eggs have become the major source of income for the school. On average, we collect about 22 trays every day," he says, adding that a tray retails at Sh320.

Mr Mohammed adds that laying chickens are currently 800 and are very productive and consume at least 100kg of feeds daily.

A bag of 50kg of feeds costs Sh2,400 and they usually spend at least Sh144,000 on feeds on monthly basis.

The project has as well provided employment to one person who earns Sh10,000 per month.

Mr Mohammed says after deducting all the expenses, the school makes a profit of at least Sh57,200 every month.

"Through monthly deposits, the school has accumulated Sh276,140 at the bank within the four months," he says, adding the funds will be channelled back to the school to improve its infrastructure.

Mr Mohammed says the school is in dire need of more classrooms, dining hall and dormitories to adequately accommodate the pupils.

"We are appealing to well-wishers to assist us in improving the school infrastructure even as we engage in income-generating activities. We have only two classrooms accommodating the pupils from the ECDE to class eight," he said, adding that they are also understaffed.

Mr Mohammed says they are also looking at the possibility of buying an incubator and start hatching chicks for rearing and selling as egg production is expected to increase.

The major sources of their market is African Eco Safaris as well as local traders who buy in large quantities.

Though Mohammed admits sales have reduced in the past few weeks following influx from those from neighbouring countries as they currently have almost 100 trays of eggs at the store, he still remains optimistic that the sales will eventually increase.