Success Stories Towards Enhancing Livelihoohs and Quality of Life

Mr Vijay Thakur's Experience with Kuroilers Motivated Him to Seed Entrepreneurship among Children from the Less Privileged Sections of the Society

Mr Vijay Thakur took 20 KUROILER chicks from Keggfarms. 15 of these, he distributed to four children in his native village in Bhauwala, 25 kilometers from Dehradun. Five were kept in their factory premises.

In Mr Thakur's words, "For children the chicks were toys and they used to play with them as well as take care of them. No special feed was given to them, they survived only on the left overs. The chicks grew up very fast and the mortality rate was almost nil except a few who were killed by cats and dogs and NEVALAS of the area. We had taken the chicks on August 22nd last year and in the second week of the February 2012, the hens started laying eggs almost every day.....and the cocks gained weight to around three kgs by February/ March and by mid-June their weight was 4.5 kgs"

The Kuroiler eggs, called desi eggs, were much in demand. The children sold them for as high as Rs 10 an egg, and the cocks were sold for Rs 700 to Rs 1,000.

Continues Mr Thakur, "What surprised me the most was the change in behaviour of the children who were given the chicks; they were earning nearly Rs 400 a month--a great amount for them. Infact one of them sold his cock for Rs 1,000 in the first week of July and purchased a bicycle from the savings from the eggs and from the earnings of the cock. Another boy purchased his school books from the saving of the sale proceeds of eggs and cocks. Interestingly, the children had a feeling of self- reliance. A mother of one of the boys told me that she was fed up with the stealing habit of her son. Nothing could change him, but the Kuroilers. Now he does not look for money from his father's pocket, but from the Kuroilers.

Similarly, in the factory the response was amazing; the chicks grew fast and the eggs were tasty. My factory boys eat the Kuroilers eggs. I also eat them and have noticed that these eggs are easy to digest than the normal eggs."

After the success of this project, Mr Thakur's Trusy, Tanyarsh, has planned to start a small test project to give Kuroilers to village boys of nearby areas of Greater Noida. The idea is to encourage entrepreneurship among children, to make them self-reliant. To begin with they have selected 15 children in the age group of 7 to 13 years all form SC/ST families.

Anjali Maiti : Kuroiler Nahi to Jeevan Nahi (No Kuroiler - No life)

Such is the impact of Kuroiler on Anjali Maiti's life. For her, Kuroiler rearing contributes to almost 50% of her income. Her household comprises of invalid old father-in-law and husband with medical problem and presently she is the sole bread winner. All she has is a small kutchha one room hut that she shares with her family and 50 Kuroiler! In Kuroiler she finds a steady source of income with minimum inputs both in form of labour as well as investment. Other village women admire Anjali for her skills in Kuroiler rearing and seek her advice. She is happy to have her Kuroiler and cannot think of life without it

Shantana Purkiat : "I am happiest when Kuroiler money comes into my hands" (translated)

Rearing Kuroiler as a source of supplementary income was a major step for Shantana Purkait. She neither had any previous experience in poultry keeping nor the capital for investment. Her husband's employer provided the starting capital in form of loan while know-how of Kuroiler keeping was sourced from the mother unit owner and neighbours.

She has already made a net profit of Rs 2000/- within 6 months of Kuroiler keeping and has three hens that lay eggs for her children and family to consume. The Kuroiler money is used to fulfil educational needs of children and buying rations. Her second flock is now ready for sale and she is up-beat about it. Shantana father-in-law has emerged as her most vocal supporter and sees nothing wrong in her attempt at Kuroiler keeping as business venture. As far as society is concerned he has this to say - "Kaun Bolbe…!? (Who will say anything..?)"

Tarabela Ghosh : "Kuroiler for me is only profit. (Translated)"

"So what if my name is good, my fate is terrible!" This is how Tarabela sums up her life. Life has been difficult for Tarabela Ghosh. She lost her husband at the age of 28 years with three minor sons to bring up and no means of livelihood the situation was bleak. Today sale of poultry and par- boiled rice are her sources of income. The waste from her rice business goes into feeding her Kuroiler and she is happy with this arrangement. She sees Kuroiler rearing a win-win situation. Tarabela is deeply attached to her flock and looks after them relentlessly. Their presence is an anchoring factor of her life. She is so happy with her Kuroiler that she would love to increase her flock size, but cannot do so. Her sister-in-laws will not like it if her flock size is bigger than theirs. Since she has to live next to them and share the yard, she cannot dare to go against them.