This is an article from Tanzania about the effects of our Blogathon last year. I know it’s taken a while, but after reading the article I think you’ll agree that it was well worth the wait. Thanks again to everyone who contributed!
A NEW TRADITION:
Economic Empowerment for Women through Piggery Projects among the Maasai of the Hai district
By Rebecca Blumhagen, 2005
Sipora Danieli (Mama Sita) with her pig and its first litter of piglets
“Pigs are a guest animal in this culture,” Sister Alexandra Buretta (Project Supervisor) says. “Cows are the traditional livestock raised by the Maasai.” But some women, such as Sipora Danieli (pictured above) are breaking with tradition in more ways than one – first, by raising pigs, and second, by owning them.
In traditional Maasai culture, women are not allowed to own livestock. But in the dusty Savannah of the Hai district, life has become so hard for many families that they decided something needed to change. Women started meeting on the grounds of a local school, forming groups according to their interests. Some wanted to find ways to start beadwork projects. Some began to look beyond their tradition to what they saw other Tanzanians doing: raising chickens, goats, or pigs.
It was this last idea that reminded Yohana Yoakimindra, advisor to the groups, of Sister Alexandra Buretta, a Catholic sister with the diocese of Moshi, who she knew had started many piggery projects through gifts of livestock provided by Heifer Tanzania. So, she called her up.
Sister Alexandra, always eager to assist more women in empowering themselves through livestock projects, came to meet with the women of “Kikundi cha Neema cha Wamama Ormelili,” or, The Blessed Group of the Shady Tree. After making sure they were able to gain permission from their husbands to raise pigs, she arranged for six sows and one boar to be given to 6 of the women in the group, who signed contracts to pass on two female offspring from the first farrowing to other women in their group.
“You came on a golden day,” Sister Alexandra told me as we walked through the tall, dry grass to the home of the first farmer. “Three days ago four of the sows gave birth to their first litter of pigs!” We all gathered around the first shed, admiring the fine litter of piglets, and listened to the story of Afrasia Laizer and her husband Moses.
From Left to Right, Afrasia Laizer, her son Amani, and her husband Moses
“I was very happy to hear I would receive a pig,” Afrasia said. “I was very happy because I thought this was a chance to get economic empowerment and development – as you can see, there is nothing around here to do so that I can earn an income. Now I will get money to educate my children and for family upkeep, and I’ve already received manure for my farm.” Her husband, Moses, was also happy to hear his wife was going to have the chance to start a piggery project. He acknowledged that women were not allowed to own cattle, because “cattle are for men,” but that pigs were different. He has helped his wife to start the project by helping her build an improved shed (on the right), which was finished just two days before the first farrowing.
The sows average a litter of about nine piglets, meaning that the women will probably be able to sell about seven out of the first litter, after they pass on two of the females to other women in the group. At 8 weeks piglets sell for 15-20,000 Tanzanian shillings, or about fifteen US dollars. That means successful farmers will be able to earn a yearly gross income of about 250-300,000 Tanzanian shillings – exponentially multiplying their current yearly income, which is close to nothing.
Yasinta Laitapaki Laizer is pictured above with her pig and its first litter of piglets. Yasinta is especially thankful for the manure she has already received from her pig, which she uses to help fertilize the shrub fence around her farm and the orange trees in her small tree nursery.
“Right now these women have no source of income,” Sister Alexandra said. “Everything belongs to the men. But from now onwards, woman can have an income.” Of course it is not only the women who are benefiting from these projects, but the entire family. As men are seeing the benefits of piggery projects they are also doing what they can to help their wives, bringing more balance to the distribution of the work load among the Maasai of North East Tanzania. “The men also are assisting in these projects, helping to build the sheds and to purchase the feed,” Sister Alexandra points out.
Pig by pig, Heifer Tanzania is empowering women through piggery projects in North East Tanzania. And family by family, men and women are rethinking what it means to work together to care for their families.
From Left to Right, Meatrice Josef Msole (group secretary), Dr. A.E. Lyimo (Coordinator of Heifer Tanzania’s North East Zone), Sister Alexandra Buretta (Project Supervisor), Afrasia Laizer, (group member) Yohana Yoakimindra (Group Advisor), Yovita Lyimo (Chairwoman), and Amani (son of Afrasia), in the process of giving iron injections to the young piglets.
