UPDATE to the chicken coop project. See the earlier news post.

SEEDs workers in a rural area of Sumatra are identifying families that are unable due to poor health, age, or other limiting factors to find sufficient work to meet their needs. These families receive an initial investment of chickens and a chicken coop as the basis for raising chickens.

One recent example of a program recipient is Ibu Megawati, a grandmother caring for three grandchildren who works hard tapping rubber trees to provide for her family. The income she earns from this is often not enough to meet their needs. SEEDs workers in conjunction with local village leaders constructed a sturdy chicken coop capable of housing 20 chickens for Ibu Megawati’s family, and they received one rooster and two hens as an initial investment.

To date SEEDs has built over 25 chicken coops for some of the poorest families in an economically depressed area in Riau, Indonesia.  Within three months many families have between ten and twenty chicks, the start of a small business with the potential to stabilise their income.