Zaida - Share a Cow . . .
Zaidi is a Kiswahili word which means “Abundantly More” it’s the focus of our project in Taita Hills. A story was once told of a man who gave three of his employees some coins, to one he gave 1, to another 2 and to another he gave 5. The one with 5 coins, used what he had, put them to good use and gained 5 more; likewise, the one with 2 coins, gaining 2 more, but the one with 1 coin, fearing loss, buried his coin and when his employer came back returned it to him, saying, “See, here is the coin you entrusted to me.” As we plant in fertile soil and tend well, we can expect to see growth. To wisely use what we have, instead of burying it to protect and keep it can bring increase – ZAIDI!
One part of Zaidi is our “Share a Cow” project – this is how it works. A donation buys a cow, which is given to a farmer. The farmer cares for the needs of the cow and then repays the cost of the cow to Zaidi from a percentage of the sale of milk to the dairy. As the money comes back to Zaidi, it buys another cow for another farmer, and the cycle continues…
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The first calf born belongs to Zaidi, the farmer is then able to grow his or her business with everything after that.
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Saul, one of the first farmers has used his percentage of the milk sale to go towards the development of his farm by building a biogas tank. Absolutely nothing is wasted; the cow’s waste goes into the tank, which produces the gas and is then piped to their kitchen; the slurry that remains flows through an overflow onto the field growing the Napier grass and again the cycle continues…
This really is a great opportunity to empower a community.
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This has been a great project and is currently self sustaining.
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We are keeping the project as is at the present time while we assess the best way forward.
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Thank you to everyone who has "shared a cow" your name lives on...
