Sponsoring Childs education and Empowering Mothers Group in Chepang Community through Pig Farming

About the Project:
Self-Sustaining Campaign for Chepang Community is an active circle formed under the initiation of Biswash Chepang who seeks to empower women’s Group (आमासमुह) of rural Chepang community through Agriculture, Animal husbandry like pig farming. The main aim of Self Sustaining campaign for Chepang community activities is to gain financial independence. When the family is economically empowered they can educate their children’s in community school paying minimal amount of fee.

Pig Farming:
Among the various livestock species, piggery is most potential source for meat production and pigs are more efficient feed converters after the broiler. Apart from providing meat, it is also a source of bristles and manure. Pig farming will provide employment opportunities to seasonally employed rural farmers and supplementary income to improve their living standards.

The advantages of the pig farming are:

1. Pig has got highest feed conversion efficiency i.e. they produce more live weight gain from a given weight of feed than any other class of meat producing animals except broilers.
2. Pig can utilise wide variety of feed stuffs viz. grains, forages, damaged feeds and garbage and convert them into valuable nutritious meat. However, feeding of damaged grains, garbage and other unbalanced rations may result in lower feed efficiency.
3. They are prolific with shorter generation interval. A sow can be bred as early as 8-9 months of age and can farrow twice in a year. They produce 6-12 piglets in each farrowing.
4. Pig farming requires small investment on buildings and equipment.
5. Pigs manure is widely used as fertilizer for agriculture farms and fish ponds.
6. Pigs store fat rapidly for which there is an increasing demand from poultry feed, soap, paints and other chemical industries.
7. Pig farming provides quick returns since the marketable weight of fatteners can be achieved with in a period of 6-8 months.
8. There is good demand from domestic as well as export market for pig products such as pork, bacon, ham, sausages, lard etc.

Modality
The piglet costs Nrs.5000. The pig will be purchased and given to the family. The Family will be responsible for its rearing and breeding cycle. The amount generated from pork will  be used in educating child and empowering mothers group in community.

Mothers group:

Mothers’ Groups (MGs), a non-political group, have played a significant role on women’s empowerment and mobilization at grassroots. This study aims to assess the role of Mothers’ Groups in social mobilization and women empowerment.

MGs primarily focus on social awareness of child care, primary health care, nutrition, sanitation, cleaning-up programmes and family planning. Additionally, the study finds that MGs play significant role in increasing participation of women in School Management Committee and Forestry Users’ Groups.

MG members have informed that they have been involved in such institutions with self-motivation. However, MGs could not play effective role towards capacity building of mothers as they are less equipped in terms of education, self-confidence and entrepreneurial skills. Further, MGs face financial constraint as well as less support from social leaders. Nevertheless, the study recommends for large scale study for more comprehensive analysis.

We will be supporting mothers group of Chepang community to carry out developmental activities.

Child Sponsorship: The major reason behind Chepangs lagging behind is due to education. If we could enlighten some member of the chepang community they will obviously be a role model in the community and help in the community upliftment. So the main focus of this project is to educate Chepang children. The simple process to educate the Chepang child is to sponsor a child annually in Government school.

One Chepang Child Sponsorship Program will help our Chepang Children to continue their education after grade 5 in Shree Antyodaya JanajatiAwasiya Vidhyalaya. This will help them to get educated and aware about the social, political and general rights that every citizen should get being Nepali in Nepal.

The amount earned from the pig farming will be invested in day to day basic needs fulfillment and Childs sponsorship program.