Primary schools page
Welcome to our Bóthar na nGabhar page.
This is a special page for all the hundreds of schools who have participated in Bóthar na nGabhar since 1998. So far you have sent almost 1,000 dairy goats to poor families in Africa - a brilliant achievement, and one you can be very proud of. Irish boys and girls are lifting thousands of people out of poverty and giving them a secure future by taking part in it.

Frequently asked questions about Bóthar na nGabhar.

What is the connection between Bóthar goats and Primary Schools?
Since 1991 Bóthar has been sending Irish dairy goats, usually Saanen breed, abroad as part of an expansion of the heifer scheme. In recent times there has been a strong connection between Ireland and East Africa in this regard, particularly Tanzania and Uganda. Bóthar has also sent goats to Eastern Europe, most recently to Lebanon. Goats are more suitable in some situations, for example where the families do not own as much land as would be needed to feed a heifer.

However what makes the goat scheme of particular interest is that it is much less expensive: to pay for the purchase and "air fare" of a goat costs €300. It is therefore much more within the reach of the average primary school; indeed many schools have undertaken to raise the cost on their own initiative in the past few years, and there have been many instances of schools sponsoring heifers too. So in individual schools Bóthar is certainly no stranger.

What is Bóthar na nGabhar?
Encouraged by this enormous interest and generosity we decided to try to streamline these individual efforts, and in 1999 a pilot project was run in Co. Cork. All primary schools were invited to take part with the aim of raising the sponsorship cost in as many schools as possible. The children were asked to make contributions from their own resources, not those of their parents, and the scheme ran for the duration of Lent.

Following its success Bóthar na nGabhar was launched on a national scale during Lent 2000 and that year over 300 goats were sponsored by participating primary schools. 2001 saw an increase in this number and the scheme continues to grow.

Do you need to take part every year?
The simple answer is no. Even if each school took part just once during an eight-year cycle this would still amount to a valuable contribution each year. Of course we are delighted if schools participate more frequently but we are also mindful of the many other worthy causes that exist, and of the educational benefits that derive from supporting them.

How much milk does a dairy goat yield?
An Irish pure-bred Saanen goat will give about four litres of milk each day. That's over 20 of the bottles the school milk comes in! Can you work out how many litres this would be in a year and how much it would cost here?

What about offspring?
Saanens will kid each year, and will often produce twins. The receiving family agrees to donate the first-born female kid to another needy family; they may keep any offspring thereafter. In their turn the second family will do the same for a third family and so on.

Your "living gift" of a single goat will therefore go on increasing and multiplying for the rest of your lifetime and beyond!

Are the goats happy in their new countries?
The goats all receive the best of care in their new homes. In Africa they find the climate very comfortable. As the temperature there is similar to a warm Irish summer all the year round they do not find it too hot. They are also well fed and well looked after because their new family regards them as being worth their weight in gold.

Why don't the African people breed their own goats?
Out of 450 million goats in the world, over 350 million are in developing countries, but many of these are of poor quality and do not give anything like the amount of milk produced by an Irish goat. Some of the male goats born from Irish parents are mated with the native stock and the resulting offspring are better than if produced by two indigenous animals. Best of all, though, is to have kids that have both male and female parents of high quality stock.

Does the family know how to care for their goat properly?
Before receiving the animal the family will have successfully completed a course which will train them on every aspect of caring properly for the animal. Great care is taken in this matter and, as you can imagine, all of the family from the youngest to the eldest are anxious that no harm should come to their precious goat. In addition there is a veterinary scheme so that if professional help is needed it is available.

Where are the goats kept before travelling?
One place that has become very important to Bóthar is the beautiful 200-acre farm of Stephen and June Powell near Birr, Co. Offaly. Here the newly-weaned goats are reared on a voluntary basis and with much care by Stephen and June until they are old enough to make the journey abroad.

How are the animals transported?
All the goats are transported by air as this is the quickest, cheapest and least stressful method. Usually a group of 200 travel together. They are taken from the Co. Offaly farm by road to the airport, usually either Shannon or Gatwick. The goats are transported either in specially designed crates, each holding 25 goats, or in pens which are installed in the aircraft itself. The animals are comfortable during their journey and do not mind the flight at all; in fact many of them sleep for the twelve-hour trip! On arrival they are fed and have a rest overnight, and the following day they are distributed to their new families who have been awaiting their arrival.

What is the goat's housing like?
In African countries the goat lives beside the dwelling house in a comfortable structure built of wattles, with a grass roof and a raised slatted wooden floor inside a shaded compound. This is called a "zero-grazing unit". Twice each day she is taken out for milking and a short walk.

In other countries often there will be existing housing accommodation for the animals, but it must meet a certain standard in order to be acceptable.

How is the goat fed?
In Africa she is fed using what is known as the zero-grazing system. The family grows about one acre of special lush grass called elephant grass which is very successful in Africa. A couple of times a day some of this grass is cut and chopped for feeding to the goat in her compound. She is not allowed to roam freely in the elephant grass as she would cause too much damage and also might be prone to local diseases, but the family gives her plenty of exercise. Any manure produced by the goat is used to fertilise the ground.

In European and Middle Eastern countries alfalfa is the most popular choice. This fodder is cut and chopped several times a day by the family and brought to the animal for feeding.

Does it cause difficulty if one family gets a goat and another does not?
There are trained and experienced personnel involved in Bóthar projects who, in consultation with local church and community groups, select the most needy families. Usually a group of neighbouring families will each be given a goat. In order to foster the native sense of community spirit the families are encouraged to work together and share their resources for the good of all. This close-knit group structure enables them to support and learn from each other. We call this group of families a "Meitheal".

Will the animals be safe from war?
They are safest in the hands of one-animal farmers. Bóthar only sends animals to peaceful areas in countries, which have settled administrations.

What is the mortality rate?
If the goat is in good health and is well cared for it can live for up to 14 years.

What about the goat's name?
If you are sponsoring a goat you may choose her name. Sometimes Bóthar will put together several small surplus donations to sponsor a goat, and she is then named "Upendo" which is the Swahili word for Love.

How old must the female be before she can have kids?
She must be one year old. Healthy females will have around six pregnancies in all, with twin kids in some and an average male to female ratio of 50:50.

What is the gestation period?
The gestation period of a goat is about five months.

What is the lifespan of a goat?
Saanens can live for between six and eight years.

What about male goats?
Some Irish pucks are also sent abroad. These are valuable for breeding. One puck is usually kept in a central village and the females are brought from the surrounding area to be served. In this way the purity of the breed is preserved.

Where do Bóthar goats come from and how certain can we be of their quality?
Many are donated by goat farms in Ireland which already have more than enough for their milk and cheese production. These are always of excellent quality. Some goats are donated by other individuals and of these only the highest quality animals are selected to go abroad.

What breeds are the Irish goats?
Most are Saanens; there are some Toggenburgs and Alpines. These three are originally Swiss breeds. There are also some Anglo-Nubians, an African breed, which are in demand in Africa to cross with Saanens. The first generation of such a cross has a "hybrid vigour" that leads to bigger, stronger animals and increased milk yield.

What other work is done by Bóthar?
For full details of the other animal projects Bóthar is involved with select Rabbits, Bees, Chickens, Pigs, Goats, Yaks or Cows. Bóthar also helps existing projects by supplying vehicles, AI straws and other veterinary supplies, office technology and computers and by providing manuals translated into local languages. In recent times the experience of Bóthar has been sought by groups, notably in Australia, South Africa and France wishing to set up similar organisations.

We have tried to answer the main questions that people ask about BNB. If we have forgotten anything you can mail your questions, marked "FAO The Webmaster" to bothar@eircom.net