From Savings To Success

Grace, a 38-year-old mother of eight, lives in a small rural community in Kagadi. Grace has long cultivated maize, beans, groundnuts, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cassava. While farming has sustained her family for years, the income has not been consistent. She was eager to start poultry farming, believing it would help add an income stream to sustainably address the needs of her growing household.

When RTV partnered with her community through the FLIP (From Last Mile Into Possibilities) project supported by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Grace saw an opportunity to build a better future for her family. Through the project, she participated in training sessions on modern agricultural practices, financial literacy, livestock care and management, and other topics.

Grace joined two Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to access affordable credit for her poultry venture. “As group members, we would each save UGX 2,000 weekly, eventually increasing our contributions to UGX 25,000 weekly,” Grace shared. This disciplined saving allowed Grace to set aside 50,000 shillings every two weeks. She borrowed UGX 100,000 from the savings group, combined it with UGX 70,000 she had saved independently, and purchased ten chicks. She also bought feed and built a simple shelter for them.

Drawing on her childhood experience helping her father raise chickens and the knowledge gained in training sessions, Grace cared for her initial flock meticulously. “My sisters and parents have been raising chickens since I was young,” she recalled, “I believe I have the same skill for poultry because it runs in the family.” Her hard work soon paid off. Her chicks had matured at 2.5 months, and she sold 10 for UGX 500,000. With this income, she built a few additional structures and reinvested by purchasing more birds. Three months later, her next sale netted her UGX 1.5 million. “I recently bought 50 more chicks and have so far sold 44, providing me with a steady income”, Grace said. Her clients come not only from her local community but also from other parts of Kagadi and the neighboring district of Hoima. Grace also received a pig as part of the project and purchased additional piglets using her poultry income.

With quick, easy access to affordable credit, Grace is confident in her livestock business and plans to expand it further. “My dream is to have a big poultry farm,” Grace shared. “My father, too, has poultry that includes a wide variety of breeds. I’m determined to achieve that,” she says proudly.

Be part of our journey. Support last-mile communities by supporting Raising The Village. 

Raising The Village (RTV) partners with last-mile, rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and develops holistic initiatives that pave the pathway out of ultra-poverty towards economic self-sufficiency within 24 months. Our programs focus on improving agricultural incomes through training and providing agricultural inputs, diversifying income streams, removing barriers to participation such as lack of access to health, water, financial inclusion, and food security, and promoting healthy behaviors including adopting healthy WASH and gender equity practices. Since 2016, we have impacted the lives of more than 1.3 million people in last-mile villages in Uganda.