Cow’s milk makes small banana plantation possisble!
Mary Muwambiro and her husband live with their six children in the Masaka District in Uganda. Two of her six children are orphans that she and her husband took in years ago.
Mary and her family were subsistence farmers, the poorest of the poor, eeking out an existence from the 2 acre plot of land that their one room dwelling resided on.
Their soil was difficult to cultivate due to years of continuous use. With no fertilisers, no tools, no running water or money, Mary and her family survived on the small amount of crops they managed to grow and any wild fruit they could forage from around their home.
They literly lived from hand-to-mouth.
In 1999 Mary joined the MADDO Dairy Project in her village. She had heard from her neighbours who belonged to the project that manure from animals would help fertilize her land and make it more productive.
The family immediately started to learn about farm planning, environmental conservation, pasture establishment and management, animal husbandry, fruit growing, milk production and handling and vegetable growing from Bóthar and its project partners Heifer International Uganda.
In 2001, after completeing the training course and making all the housing and feeding preparations, Mary's family received a 'pass on' heifer-calf from a family in the neighbouring Kitenga village who had received an Irish dairy heifer a few years previously.
Mary and her family named their heifer Saulla and she has now calved 4 times, with the 4th bundle of joy arriving on the 16th of July 2006. Saulla has produced two bull and two heifer calves to date. Acording to the pass-on system, the Muwambiro family passed their first female offspring from Saulla to another family who had also been trained by Bóthar to receive it.
Sualla's milk has improved Marys families diet. They now have the benefit of nutritious milk, cheese and yogurt. They have been selling the surplus dairy products to make an income which has given Mary the money to to buy very high quality vanilla plants and a small banana plantation.
Mary has been able to increase the size of their small holding and construct a better quality house for the family to live in. They have also bought chickens, goats and sheep. Most importantly, she has at last been able to send their children to school giving them a chance at a brighter future.
Mary plans to build a permanent brick house and has already started making bricks for their new home. Their future plans also include an expansion of their herd which will allow them to benefit from integrated livestock farming.
Just five years after Mary received her cow, her farm and family are showing enormous improvements. The soil is more fertile and a variety of crops are growing, their livestock continues to provide milk and income for the family. The health and quality of life of their children and the neighbouring famililes in their village has improved.
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