unfortunately I cannot murder thumper, so the idea to start a Rabbit Co-op has been born partly due to the suggestions of my aunties. The idea is to train Canaries villagers in raising rabbits as an easy way to make extra income or provide extra food. Here is a copy of the program and funding proposal for the Co-op. I will be pursuing funding through the local government and donations. Enjoy.
Purpose:
To train Canaries Villagers how to raise and sell rabbits in a profitable self sustaining way that will provide economic benefit to young unemployed single mothers and young men.
The community and people:
The community of Canaries is one of the more economically distressed areas in
Figure 1
| DISTRICT | UNEMPLOYMENT RATES | ||
| MALE | FEMALE | TOTAL | |
| | 16.8 | 18.8 | 17.8 |
| | 14.7 | 13.2 | 14.0 |
| | 15.5 | 19.9 | 17.5 |
| Anse La Raye | 15.3 | 23.3 | 18.6 |
| *Canaries | 25.2 | 50.3 | 34.7 |
| Soufriere | 13.8 | 18.3 | 15.6 |
| Choiseul | 19.1 | 27.7 | 23.0 |
| Laborie | 19.3 | 21.9 | 20.4 |
| Vieux Fort | 15.1 | 17.4 | 16.1 |
| Micoud | 15.8 | 26.2 | 20.1 |
| Dennery | 17.6 | 29.9 | 22.8 |
| Gros Islet | 12.6 | 15.5 | 14.0 |
| TOTAL | 15.5 | 19.4 | 17.3 |
Source: Housing and Population Census 2001
A strong culture of dependency particularly on remittances from
Benefits:
With
Implementation:
Currently the Co-op is operating a full size rabbit hutch that has 6 rabbits. With gestation taking less then 28 days from breeding time this population will rapidly expand. The rabbits are being cared for by the Canaries Peace Corps volunteer and two local youth. The rabbits are being bred currently for the Co-Op with the intentions to provide one female doe to each member that completes the program.
The program will consist of 14 families with the expected attrition of at least 4-5 families because of the program demands listed below:
Six Week Rabbit Care and Feeding Program:
Members will participate one day per week in feeding and caring for the rabbits for 6 weeks. This approach will provide direct skills transfer in a hands on manner. The length of the rabbit care and feeding program is long with the intention of providing intensive exposure and training in addition to developing the discipline necessary to successfully raise rabbits which require a small amount of daily care. Attendance will tracked through a sign up sheet. If a member misses two feeding times they will be disqualified from the program.
Two Morning Workshops:
There will be two morning training workshops in the village community center. They will focus on education and training for the rabbit Co-op on the following topics:
-Rabbit Physiology and Health
-Rabbit Breeding
-Food and Diet
-Profit and Cost Analysis
-Hutch Design and Maintenance
Members will be required to attend both workshops if they miss one they will be disqualified from the program.
Each member will required to a build a 3 cage hutch using a basic design that utilizes local materials in particular bamboo, a free, hardy, natural, available material from the rainforest. The other building materials will be chicken wire and wire mesh along with hinges and nails and screws and sheet metal for the roofs donated by Caribbean Metals. These materials will be provided along with direct supervision and assistance.
Members will also be required to construct a food container, breeding box and self watering system for the rabbits.
Upon completion of all of these tasks members will receive.
- 1 Female Doe
- 1 50pd bad of rabbit feed.
Accountability:
The program will be carried out with the supervision and support of the Community Development Officer Urania Joseph who is responsible for assisting in economic activity on the West side of the Island and the Canaries Village Council. Updates of the project will be provided at the blog and copies of receipts for purchases will be faxed or mailed to donors.
Conclusion:
This easy self replicating project can have economic impact in Canaries village in a minimum of 10 families’ lives. Families that mostly consist of unemployed single mothers and young people looking for self employment opportunities like this. The below section is the program budget breaking down the requests for funding for the following materials to begin the program.
Thank you for your consideration in this project.
| Rabbit Cooperative Funding Request | Price | Quantity | Total in EC | Total in US |
| Chicken Wire (Price Per Yard) | $25.00 | 50 | $1,250.00 | $471.70 |
| 1/2 Wire Mesh (Price Per Foot) | $5.00 | 150 | $750.00 | $283.02 |
| Bottles of Wood Glue | $15.95 | 7 | $111.65 | $42.13 |
| 50pd Bag of Rabbit Feed | $32.00 | 14 | $448.00 | $169.06 |
| Brass Hinges | $2.95 | 88 | $259.60 | $97.96 |
| 1'Drywall screws, for hinges and clasps (Price per Pound) | $3.00 | 7 | $21.00 | $7.92 |
| Headless 2inch nails (Price per Pound) | $3.75 | 7 | $26.25 | $9.91 |
| 2x4 x12 Pressure Treated (Hutch Frame) | $30.12 | 21 | $632.52 | $238.69 |
| Clasps (to lock cage) | $3.50 | 21 | $73.50 | $27.74 |
| Galvanized nails for roof (Price Per Pound) | $3.99 | 7 | $27.93 | $10.54 |
| 4x8 3/8 Pressure treated plywood (Feeding and Breeding Boxs) | $72.48 | 7 | $507.36 | $191.46 |
| Total Funding Request | | | $4,107.81 | $1,550.12 |
Budget:
Contact Info and References.
The following information can be found at the Peace Corps volunteers blog.
http://bigcountryleo.blogspot.com/
-Pictures of the rabbits and hutch, self watering system, breeding box.
-Info on costs for and design of a 5 cage hutch. (this design did not use bamboo)
-Info about
-Info on the Volunteer
Contact information and mailing address:
Volunteer Lee Klejnot
US Peace Corps
Cell (758) 285-5103 Email: Lee.Klejnot@gmail.com
Town Clerk Mrs. Morrisette
(758) 459-4107
Community Development Officer for Canaries and Anse Le Raye:
Urania Joseph
Office (758) 458-3806 Cell (758) 287-1802 Email: urania_joseph@yahoo.com
References on Canaries per the 2001 Population and Housing census:
http://www.stats.gov.lc/cnews06.htm
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