That means fresh eggs and meat for poor families in Nicaragua as they start up and learn to manage their own backyard poultry flocks.
The details of W/NP's "Gallinas de Patio" Poultry Project in an eggshell!
We provide each family:
- six hens and one rooster - healthy, vaccinated birds ready to start production;
- training and support for continued care of the chickens;
- one Spanish language "Raising Chickens" how-to book;
- one special guide book with tips specific to this project;
- enough feed to ensure several weeks of healthy, balanced diet for the chickens.
Each family will:
- build their own chicken coop with available wood or bamboo;
- receive training to care for their chickens and chicks effectively and responsibly for years to come;
- safely clean and thoroughly cook the eggs and meat provided for the family;
- raise baby chicks to maturity and provide at least six hens and one rooster to a neighboring family.
You can have something to crow about! Join the flock! Give a chicken gift in memory or in honor of an individual, group, or organization. The honoree, their family, or designee will receive notification telling them of your donation. Just tell us who, what, where, and when, and we will do the rest. It's a present that will never be the wrong size, the wrong color, or out of style!
There are a variety of ways that you can participate in the Poultry Project.
- $30 will provide a family with six healthy hens that together may produce more than 2,000 eggs to eat or sell over the next two years.
- $50 will provide a family with six hens, one rooster, one month's feed, and a management book.
- $75 will buy six hens, one rooster, one month's feed, a management book, a vaccination program, and transportation.
This gift will not only honor someone that you love or admire but will also give a sustainable and nutritious gift to a family in Nicaragua. What an ideal gift for the person you love on their birthday, their anniversary, or any other special occasion!
Thirty families have received chickens and are very enthusiastic about this new opportunity and responsibility. These families were chosen from just three of the Learning Centers operating in Nicaragua, leaving over seventy yet to be involved. In order to provide more families in more communities with flocks of chickens, we will need the financial support of families like yours.
Be Involved
Your donations will help us provide:
- healthy, productive hens and roosters;
- educational materials and support for the effective management of the chickens;
- vaccines to keep the birds healthy;
- feed and nutrients to ensure productivity and longevity.
For over 38 years, Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners of the Americas, Inc. has been building and strengthening relationships of cooperation, support, and friendship through projects that empower people and facilitate self-sufficiency. In 1979, W/NP formed its first Learning Center in Nicaragua to help promote and market sewing, knitting, quilting, and other artistic and useful crafts. Today, there are over 75 well-established Learning Centers throughout Nicaragua.
This fall, W/NP, with the support of Wisconsinites like you, committed to the empowerment of Nicaraguan families in yet another way, providing small flocks of laying hens to thirty families. This marks the beginning of the "Gallinas de Patio" Poultry Project, Spanish for "backyard hens." Appreciative and eager families will care for these flocks, which will provide plenty of fresh eggs and much needed protein for years to come.
Low-income levels and transportation challenges make it impossible for many Nicaraguan families to purchase a steady supply of fresh eggs, yet the protein and vitamins found in eggs are a necessary component of their diet. W/NP is working to provide these families with the chickens and educational support needed to produce their own eggs each day in their own backyards.
