Desta Dairy & Egg Farm Project Providing homegrown, heartfelt hope for the children of Atsbi. Project Proposal Peace Corps Partnership Program Peace Corps/Ethiopia Katheryn Hoerster Atsbi Primary School February 2013 1
Executive Summary The community of Atsbi in northern Ethiopia is in dire need of a way to provide the high number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in the area with support. While direct support for food and similar necessities is often provided through government and religious institutions, school supplies and appropriate clothing and shoes have been overlooked. Without these basic materials, OVCs in Atsbi cannot take full advantage of the free education provided by the Ethiopian government. The proposed Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project will provide Atsbi Primary School with a means of income generation. With the profits from the project the school will purchase materials, clothes and shoes for 130 students classified as OVCs. The Desta Dairy & Egg Farm Project has three main goals that aim to improve the lives of OVCs, increase capacity in the community and encourage environmental awareness. Provide Atsbi Complete Primary School with the funds necessary to purchase materials that will benefit OVCs and improve the quality of primary school education in Atsbi. Build capacity of service providers involved in project. Improve environmental aspects of the school grounds. Support for the project has come from every corner of Atsbi. A committee consisting of teachers, government officials, parent- teacher association members, school administration staff and student representatives has been formed to oversee the planning and implementation of Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project. Funding from the Peace Corps Partnership Program will allow the school to purchase one dairy cow, 100 laying chickens, seeds and three months of livestock feed. The rest of the necessary costs will be covered through community contribution. 2
I. Statement of Need For years the community of Atsbi in northern Ethiopia has struggled with a high rate of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). Without parents or family to provide support, these children suffer from a severe lack of hope for a better future. This lack of hope leads many OVCs to depend on a life of high- risk behaviors, including dropping out of school to work, crime, prostitution or begging, to survive. Government institutions and churches in the community provide some support but resources are often spread very thin. Although the minimal assistance from the community can usually provide food and shelter for the orphans of Atsbi, there are no resources available to provide school materials or appropriate clothing and shoes. Without these basic supplies, OVCs cannot take full advantage of the free education provided by the Ethiopian government. And without a primary school education the likelihood increases that these children will begin or continue a high- risk lifestyle. Atsbi Primary School (APS) has the difficult job of educating Atsbi s young people. 124 students who attend APS are classified as full orphans, with no family to provide support, and 6 are classified as special needs. The dropout rate among these OVCs is 8.7%. The school has expressed a need for an income generation project to provide their most at- risk students with materials, clothes and shoes. By covering the costs of basic supplies, the school expects dropout rates to fall and consistency of attendance to increase. Atsbi Primary School needs a way to give OVCs hope. By implementing a dairy and egg farm on the school grounds they can generate income sufficient to purchase basic supplies for these otherwise hopeless children. The following pages outline the Desta Dairy and Egg Farm Project, a project that will give the children of Atsbi a brighter future. II. In- Depth Project Description a. Summary Orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Atsbi, Ethiopia are just about hopeless. They have no family, no means of improving their situation and community support covers only truly basic needs. Furthermore, without an education the OVCs have no way to escape a life of poverty. Yet many cannot afford materials and school appropriate clothing and therefore cannot take full advantage of the free education provided by the Ethiopian government. The Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project will give Atsbi Primary School a sustainable way to purchase materials for enrolled OVCs. 130 students in the first year of the project and countless more in the following years will be given the gift of hope. Others in the community will also benefit through capacity building, environmental awareness workshops and access to milk and eggs. 3
Institutions all over Atsbi have promised full support in hopes of bettering the lives of community members. Peace Corps Partnership Program funding for the Desta Project will allow the school to purchase one dairy cow, 100 chickens, seeds for elephant grass, sesbania and alfalfa, basic equipment to care for the livestock, and a three- month supply of feed. The community will cover the rest of the costs. A committee of teachers, government officials, PTA members, school administration staff and student representatives has been formed to oversee the planning and implementation of the project. Without hope, OVCs in Atsbi have nothing. This project will change lives for years to come by providing homegrown, heartfelt hope for the children of Atsbi. b. Background Atsbi is located in Tigray, the northern most region of Ethiopia. Atsbi- Womberta woreda has been designated a chronically food- insecure area due to insufficient and sporadic rainfall, prolonged misuse of natural resources and severe population pressure. The town has a population of 9,657 and is the center for the woreda government offices. Atsbi Primary School serves 1453 students, grades 1-8. Currently 124 of the students are considered full orphans with no family to provide support. Additionally, there are six special needs students that attend Atsbi Primary School. The social affairs office in Atsbi takes responsibility for registering orphans and collecting data to help the community support these children. The community has identified the care and support of these orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) as a top priority. Besides food and shelter, these students also need school materials and appropriate clothing and shoes so that they can receive a proper education. There is no room in the school s budget to purchase these basic items for the OVCs. This project will provide an income sufficient to satisfy this need. c. Community Involvement Support for the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project has come from every area of Atsbi. The first community members to propose an income generation project to assist OVCs were administrative staff members at Atbi Primary School. With their constant contact with the underprivileged students they have a deep understanding of the problems that come with a lack of assistance for OVCs. Since the initial proposal, government officials, leaders in the community and parents of students have come forward to show their support through involvement in the planning process. The education, administrative and agriculture government offices in Atsbi have all agreed to provide assistance throughout implementation of the project. Their involvement includes donated land, materials and buildings, logistical support, and trainings by experts. Furthermore, several of the 4
government offices have representatives severing on the planning committee. d. Outcomes There are several desired outcomes of the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project. First, the income generated will be used to purchase materials and clothing for 130 OVCs that attend Atsbi Primary School. With these items the students will be more likely to attend class, stay in school and take full advantage of the education provided by Atsbi Primary School. Although the majority of generated income will be used for OVCs, 15% will be saved to promote sustainability of the project. Any remaining funds will be used as needed for other materials to benefit all students, including textbooks, library books, teaching aides and desks. This project is also designed to build capacity among service providers in the community. These leaders of the school and community will then be expected to use and share their knowledge with others involved in the project. Two trainings will be implemented, one that teaches proper business management techniques to twelve project committee members, and one concerning environmental impact awareness for fifteen teachers and administrators and the members of the school s environmental protection club. Finally, the implementation phase of the project includes planting sufficient fodder for the livestock and composting the manure produced by the livestock. The fodder will improve soil quality, prevent erosion and beautify school grounds. The compost will be used to improve production of an existing vegetable garden and apple orchard. e. Implementation The implementation of the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project will begin with business management training for committee members. After the training, construction improvements on existing buildings that will be used to house the livestock can begin. At the same time, fodder will be planted and a compost pit dug. Before purchasing livestock, a training session will be held about environmental awareness, including proper care of the cattle and poultry. Finally, one female dairy cow (pregnant or with a young calf) will be purchased at the Atsbi livestock market and 100 laying hens will be purchased from Mekele Farms and transported to Atsbi. A detailed implementation timeline can be found on page 6. Several challenges may arise during the implementation phase of the project. First, trustworthy workers that charge a fair price may be difficult to find. Community members will donate most labor, but all outside workers will need a recommendation from a trusted source. They will also be required to 5
sign a contract outlining what work will be completed, the negotiated price and a specific day by which the work is to be completed. Another anticipated challenge is teacher and administrative staff turnover. At any point during planning or implementation an important leader of the project may be transferred to a different town. To combat this problem, every aspect of the project will be documented and understood by the entire planning committee. If a committee member is assigned a specific duty, there will also be a backup member assigned to the same duty in case of turnover. f. Capacity Building A significant portion of the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project is designed to build capacity among service providers in the community. Strengthening the capacity of these individuals helps ensure local leadership and true sustainability. By training the administrative staff, PTA, project committee and teachers we can increase the likelihood of information sharing. These individuals come into contact with students often and therefore have a good understanding of how to promote change among students and other young people in Atsbi. There will be two main capacity building sessions before the implementation stage of the project. These trainings will teach the basics of running a successful small business and encourage environmental awareness. Participants will also learn to properly care for the livestock and fodder lot and the benefits of composting. Throughout these sessions, the service providers will be encouraged to develop ways to share their skills and knowledge with others throughout the community, including students. g. Sustainability Continuation of the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project after the initial investment will be based on a sustainability plan. Most importantly, at least 15% of profits will be saved to maintain and improve the existing project. A community agreement to retain assets for at least 36 months will be signed before the livestock are purchased. This will guarantee continued income generation after PCV involvement has finished. To ensure continuing proper management of the project, a significant number of individuals will be trained and involved in implementation. Rotating committee elections will guarantee at least half of the existing members will still be available be able to train new members after each election. III. Goals and Objectives 6
Goal 1: To provide Atsbi Primary School with the funds necessary to purchase materials that will benefit OVCs and improve the quality of primary school education in Atsbi. o Objective 1: By September 2013, provide 130 orphans and vulnerable children with materials such as notebooks, textbooks, pens, pencils and school appropriate clothing and shoes. Goal 2: Build capacity of service providers involved in the project and individuals in the community. o Objective 1: By week 1, train twelve project committee members on proper business management techniques and sustainability methods, including sharing knowledge with individuals in the community. o Objective 2: By week 5, train fifteen teachers and administrative staff and fifteen members of the environmental protection club on environmental awareness. o Objective 3: By month 3, 60 individuals in the community will be trained on proper business management and/or environmental awareness by service providers. Goal 3: Improve environmental aspects of the school grounds. o By week 2, plant elephant grass and alfalfa on the school grounds to provide livestock fodder, improve soil quality, prevent soil erosion and beautify the environment. o By week 4, implement a pit- composting project to properly dispose of manure and improve soil quality for a vegetable garden and apple orchard. IV. Timeline Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Implementation meeting Business management training Construction improvements of livestock house Plant fodder Dig compost pit Environmental impact training Proper livestock care training Purchase cattle Purchase poultry Begin selling products Monitoring and evaluation observations 7
V. Monitoring and Evaluation Ongoing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project will be the responsibility of several different individuals involved in the project. During the first several months of the project implementation, the Peace Corps Volunteer will assist with all aspects monitoring and evaluating. This time period will be crucial for teaching proper methods of documentation, observation and interviews. As the project moves through the stages of implementation, more and more responsibility for M&E will be handed over to the project leaders. For the first goal, providing materials for students of Atsbi Primary School, teachers will be heavily involved in seeing that the objective indicators are met. Each semester, they will document the dispersal of materials to the proper students. Monitoring and evaluation for the second goal, training service providers, will be handled by the experts selected to implement the trainings. The meeting of each indicator will be judged weekly for three months through observations and interviews with training participants. The last goal, improving the environmental aspects of the school grounds, will be monitored and evaluated by an agriculture office counterpart. The counterpart will execute weekly observations and progress checks to ensure the indicators are being met. VI. Do No Harm Clause During a do no harm discussion with the project committee, several issues were brought to light. First, with an increase in income there is a potential risk for corruption among project leaders. Although members of the committee are all respected members of the community, several measures have been taken to prevent this from happening. Representatives from three different government institutions will be involved in the project. Responsibility for all financial transactions, including selling products, collecting money, bank transactions and spending funds, will be divided between three or more committee members. Three positions, treasurer, cashier and accountant, have been developed to ensure that all income generated is used for the sole benefit of students. A second potential risk in implementing the Desta Dairy & Egg Farm project is negative environmental impacts. The introduction of livestock to a school campus will require a sanitation plan to ensure safe conditions for students. To combat this problem, a cleaning and maintenance schedule will be developed. All manure will be removed to a composting pit that is the proper distance from water sources and student areas. Prepared compost will be used to improve soil quality in the existing vegetable garden and apple orchard. The main structure used to house the livestock has already been built and will require only minimum construction improvements. Floors of the building will be cemented to facilitate cleaning. This change should not have any negative environmental impacts. 8
VII. Detailed Budget Item Description Unit Cost Quantity Total Cost (ETB) Total Cost (USD) Grant Amount Community Contribution (In- Kind) Dairy Cow* 25,000 ETB 1 25,000 $1,366 $1,366 Chickens 50 ETB 100 5,000 $273 $273 Cow Feed** 400 ETB 3 1,200 $66 $66 Chicken 1500 ETB 3 4,500 $246 $246 Feed** Seeds 100 ETB 2 200 $11 $11 Nesting boxes Jerry Cans 50 ETB 10 500 $27 $27 Sand 200 ETB 6 1,200 $66 $66 Gravel 300 ETB 5 1,500 $82 $82 Cement 250 ETB 6 1,500 $82 $82 Labor 70 ETB 20 1,400 $77 $77 Transportation 300 ETB 1 300 $16 $16 Building 47,500 ETB 1 47,500 $2,595 $2,595 Total 81, 400 $4,907 $1,989 $2,872 *The dairy cow will be pregnant or have a young calf. **The supply of livestock feed will last for three months. Partnership Contribution 40.5% Community Contribution 59.5% Projected Revenue 4 liters milk/day 20 eggs/chicken/month 1 cow 100 chickens 30 days/month 1.5 ETB/egg 6 ETB/liter 3000 ETB/month 720 ETB/month Sale of calf (Month 12) 10,000 ETB Expected Cash Flow Mo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Egg Sales 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 Milk Sales 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 720 Sale of Calf 10000 Chicken Food (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) (1500) Incrimination of cow Maintenance Costs Expected Profits (2) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) 2120 2118 2120 2120 2120 2120 2120 2120 12120 9
15% Savings 318 318 318 318 318 318 318 318 1818 10