Meet Denis Wagiva (boy in green on right), a primary school student who pays for schooling by raising pigs!
For children to be enrolled at primary school (grades 1 to 8), they must own a pencil & school uniform. Unfortunately, not every family here can afford such items. We have met many children who were turned away from school because their families couldn’t afford school uniforms (one uniform costs around 80 Ksh). On average, farmers can sell a 2-month old pig to a butcher for 500 Ksh. The cost associated with production would vary, as the level of care differs & not all animals are provided with supplemental feedings (and so the net profit also varies). For the most part, the pigs are tethered & left to forage during the day. Few better-off farms also have barns for their pigs. One of the butchers we met, Ibraham, actually had a “grow-finishers” barn full pigs that he had acquired from various farmers. Ibraham tries to butcher the pigs at around 40kg, but that would take around 8 months of feeding for a 10kg-pig to reach that weight. Good luck Denis!
Excellent and interesting “reportage” Vivian, it really brings to light the importance of the well-being of these pigs and the direct effect it has on the farmers. It appears that the work the both of you are conducting will go well beyond that of the health of the animals. Great job to the both of you!
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