Dear Friends,
Project Global Village (PAG) has been supporting poor, rural families in Honduras with opportunities to develop and achieve livelihoods that are sustainable economically and socially, and thus ensure their food supply and the generation of family income.
PAG's Small Animal Micro Business Projects started in 2008 with a focus on training poor families in the proper management and reproduction of small animals such as hens, pigs, and goats for food supply (eggs, goat milk, chicken meat, pork meat) and to generate additional family income, improving the nutrition and quality of life of families living in rural areas of Honduras.
Aside from agricultural production and seasonal coffee harvest, rural families face significant challenges to find other employment opportunities, becoming more vulnerable when a physical illness limits their ability to work the only job they have known to do.
Marlon Vasquez lives in the community of Nueva Esperanza in Intibucá County with his wife Darcy and their 12-year-old son. As a farmer, he would walk long distances to work agricultural fields but not too long ago he began to experience severe joint pain which limited his ability to walk long distances and he was later diagnosed with arthritis. With limited employment options, family food needs to meet, and medicines needed to ease the pain and inflammation of his joints, Marlon had to find another way to generate family income, pay the bills, and have food on the table.
In 2023, Marlon and his wife Darcy began to manage and reproduce a chicken project for the first time, starting with 14 hens and 1 rooster. PAG supported them with the small animals and the hardware materials while they contributed the local materials to build the chicken coop. With ongoing technical support and follow-up visits from PAG's team, today, Marlon and his wife have managed to reproduce their project to 70 chickens.
Darcy, Marlon's wife, happily shows their chicken project.
Marlon shows the latest reproduction of baby chicks.
Please watch this short video of my visit to Marlon and Darcy's chicken project in the community of Nueva Esperanza by either clicking on the left photo or the button below:
Marlon and his family are one of many rural families who with the right tools, training, and support can show how to successfully manage a micro business project to improve their family income, food supply and their overall quality of life. These well-managed small animal projects are sustainable, as families begin to reproduce their animals, they can begin selling the eggs and chicken meat. On average, one family managing a chicken project of 14 hens and 1 rooster will harvest 12 eggs per day worth $2.50 a day. This amount of money can provide basic food for a small family and increasing the chickens can increase the income.
Additionally, the family has "paid back" their chickens by reproducing an equal flock of 14 hens and a rooster to "pass along the gift" to a new family so that the new family can begin to manage and reproduce their own chicken project. Over the past 16 years, PAG has implemented over 5,000 small animal projects (pigs, chickens, tilapia fish, honeybees, and goats). Each of these projects are replicated and the “pass along the gift” goes to another poor family in need. Over the many years of working with the poor, this is one project that is easy to set up, it doesn’t require much land, training is done in each community and the market of the products produced like eggs, honey, goat milk and meat is needed locally. It has been a great project for helping poor families to achieve additional economic income locally.
Friends, would you consider sponsoring a chicken project for a poor family in need of food and family income? With $500 you can support a rural family with the necessary materials and training to help them start and successfully manage and reproduce their small animal project! Thank you for your generosity in considering the needs of our Honduran brothers and sisters. May God bless you richly!
Blessings,
Chester Thomas
PAG - Executive Director
