People Really Give A Sh*t...

We made some very big promises when we were in Rwanda and Uganda back in February, guaranteeing that they would not be false and that we would not disappoint. 

Then we did the math.

Roughly 2000 sheep and goats promised.
More than we had delivered in our two and a half years!

Plus tags, meds and vets.

Holy sh*t! 

But thanks to some 

INCREDIBLY GENEROUS FRIENDS AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, 

...and slews of phone calls, emails and meetings...

Jeff did it!
Our most heartfelt thanks go out, on behalf of the countless men, women and children, to all these mensches for their bountiful kindness!
We look forward to seeing you in Rwanda and/or Uganda when the wanderlust calls!

And So The Sh*t Begins In Uganda...

 

Solomon and Esther, are our new general managers of Uganda Operations for The Shit Starts Here.

Being new to the project and having to understand, interpret and refine our existing model to Ugandan dynamics was a challenge they embraced with gusto.

The opportunity to start small as we ironed out any kinks was most welcomed by all of us.

Jeff and I were sad to not be there with them.

They recently sent reports and pictures of this first foray into Uganda. 

The 20 members of The Elders Of Ober Barr cooperative received 19 goats and 5 sheep the week before last.

As the women are older and weak, their orphaned grandchildren agreed to dig the compost pits and and do all manual labour associated with creation/spreading of fertilizer.

Animals were, once again, sourced locally, benefiting members of the extended community.

Next up, 100 members of the cooperative of a former Internally Displaced People's Camp (IDP) in Barlonyo and 100 members of Kamdini cooperative, perhaps the most troubled and neglected place, abandoned by the community due to its strategic location as an LRA hideout.

Keeping All This Sh*t Straight...

Okay, so some of you are a bit confused.

Is it sheep or goats?

It's now both, depending on what the local community thinks works best given climate and environment, and what can be sourced locally.

Where in Africa are we?

 Rwanda and now Uganda.

Sub-Saharan Africa, often lumped into the East African Nations.

Specifically, Rwanda and now Uganda.

 Okay, but where exactly in Rwanda and Uganda?

In Rwanda we have focused our efforts to date on the communities along the park boundary of The Parc National de Volcans, home to the world's only Mountain Gorillas and other wildlife.

We are now expanding to communities around Nyungwe Forest National Park, home to the largest concentration of primates in Africa, especially chimpanzees, and to communities outside Akagera National Park, home to the Big 5 as well as a myriad of other wildlife

 

In Uganda we are focusing on the area of northern Uganda recovering from the ravages of Joseph Kony and the LRA, particularly the communities around Kamdini, Barlonyo, Ober Bar and Gulu.

All of these communities are located between Lira and Gulu.

The map on the right shows the various tribes of Uganda.

 

Same Old Sh*t, Different Country...

!!WE ARE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN UGANDA!!

 

As I write, contracts have been signed and goats are being sourced locally for the cooperative of 20 grandmothers in Ober Bar, in northern Uganda, fulfilling what we guaranteed would not be yet another empty promise made by westerners. 

Sadly, we've encountered this same weary doubtfulness in almost all of the cooperatives we've met.

 I guess they've all heard promises in the past that failed to materialize.

As if their troubled past isn't enough, they continue to be let down by false promises and opportunistic swindlers.

 

It's also the perfect opportunity for Solomon & Esther, our eager and capable 'Pauls' in Uganda, to get their feet wet with our initiative and work out any kinks before moving on to the larger cooperatives in the coming weeks.

And, as the local government has included itself in the implementation of this new initiative, it will be interesting to see how they can make themselves productive and useful.

Below are photos of our February 2013 meeting with a few of the Grandmothers and the children of all ages they care for...

we gathered on a nice patch of grass, perfect for grazing some the goats to come

 sharing grandmother wisdom, so universally about love and caring

 where ever there are children, there is always "Skinnamarink"

that's Esther to my left as we gather a few of the Grandmothers for a photo to commemorate our meeting

Sh*t Hits The Fan In The Best Possible Way!

 The Guardian Project has expanded rapidly here in Rwanda over the last 2 weeks.

 We are excited to report that we will be providing 300 goats ( as they thrive better in that climate than sheep) to a cooperative in a community located next to Nyungwe National Park in SE Rwanda.

 We will source the animals locally so that an additional 250+ farmers will benefit from the income.  

 And meanwhile in Musanze, 230 sheep were given to the last group of a 700 member  Amizero cooperative. Some of these sheep were the last of those being paid forward by the Porters Club.

 We have begun providing 360 sheep to 3 groups in a 1007 member Women's cooperative, purchasing sheep from the Porters Club from members who had completed the terms of their contract and were now generating income from excess sheep! how wonderful!

Lets look at where we are at this point...

 Each family that receives a sheep has approximately 6 members (father, mother and children), as does each family that benefits from the income of the sale of a sheep.

 So, if we do the math,

550 families x 6 members =  3,300 men, women and children in Nyungwe
1,140 families x 6 members =  6,840 men, women and children in Musanze
Total = 10,140 men women and children benefit from just this small phase of The Guardian Project's on-going efforts.

 This number is only an approximation, and it may actually be higher. 

 Add this number to those already benefiting from the Guardian Project over the last 2 years,approximately 12,000 men, women and children

 Total approximately 22,140 men, women and children in two and a half years

 and you quickly realize what an incredible impact The Guardian Project makes to the community.

 We are also proud to report that the first 220 farmers who received sheep two and a half years ago have now completed the terms of their contract, and have each paid forward a sheep to another cooperative, in addition to agreeing to maintain 3 females for continued breeding.

 Some of these farmers now have as many as 8 sheep of their own, though most have 4 or 5.

 And these farmers are proud to report that they will be selling sheep to The Guardian Project as we continue to expand, so they are now generating income as well.

 Many farmers have also sold excess sheep to cover school fees for their children and family health insurance.

We estimate that, as sheep in the project are continually multiplying, the project has generated  a conservative estimate of approximately 5,826 sheep to date in the 4 districts attached to the PNV alone.

 And all these sheep have been generating large quantities of manure, which is in turn generating a high quality fertilizer that has already increased crop yields, in some cases, by up to 300%.

 That increased crop yield also generates additional income!

 And anything that helps stabilize and strengthen the lives of the communities around the national parks helps to ensure the protection and conservation of the wildlife inside.

 And all of this doesn't even begin to take into account the close to 1,000 goats that will be provided to the cooperatives we will be working with in Northern Uganda.

But that's a story for another day, so stay tuned.

There will be shit!

Sent from my iPa

We're Spreading The Sh*t...

We are very excited to report that while we continue to expand The Sh*t Starts Here in the Musanze District of Volcanoes National Park in NW Rwanda, we will also be meeting with Rwandan communities in the NE, next to Akagara National Park and in the SW, next to Nyungwe Forest National Park. 

Akagara is home to all manner of wildlife, including elephants, giraffe, zebra and soon, lions, cheetah and leopard. 

Nyungwe is home to the largest concentration of primates in all of Africa, including large families of chimpanzees. 

So once again, our project becomes a conservation initiative as well as an income-generating, community-building one, in that anything that stabilizes the communities around the national parks protects the wildlife inside its boundaries from poaching.

 

We were encouraged to spread the sh*t farther afield during our last visit back in October, 2012.

We were honoured to be invited to attend an annual general meeting of the Rwandan Development Board (RDB) and the various sector heads in Musanze District.

The meeting focused on continued economic development, community improvement and park protection and conservation.

What an exciting moment for us when the Chief Park Warden, having responded somewhat quizzically at our initial meeting 2 years ago, now stood and described our project to those gathered, explaining, we learned from Paul's whispered translations, that it was the perfect example of an initiative that meets all the RDB's goals and mandates-

targeting the disadvantaged to achieve life improvement; 

encouraging long-term vision, ownership, community participation, benefit and sustainability;

having a visible impact; 

having a way of tracking; 

having a management plan; 

decreasing human pressure on the park- 

and we did it all with no economic impact on the RDB! 

Paul really is a genius!

Buoyed by this affirmation, we have our sights set on spreading the sh*t far and wide.

And so,we are equally excited to report that we will also be expanding the project into Northern Uganda, beginning with a visit there at the end of January, 2013, to determine our plan of action. 

We will be working with some of the communities ravaged by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, helping them, in a small but effective way, as they recover and rebuild.

Is It Really 2 Years Of This Sh*t Already...

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary this past September.

In two short years we have over 1,500+ tagged sheep in the project, with more being born regularly and another 200+ females and 40 males to be purchased in the coming weeks.

We have directly affected the lives of close to 8000 men, women and children with cash in pocket (as we source sheep locally), improved crop yields (from 5 sacks of potatoes to 8 sacks), and access to funds (selling sheep) to pay for school fees, health concerns and home improvements.

139 of our first recipients have already completed the terms of their contract and, while we were there, each paid forward a female sheep. These little darlings are the first off-spring of the initiative!

It was incredible to watch as one of farmers from our first group of recipients addressed this group to tell them about his experience with our initiative. He was excited to point out how, in 2 short years he's gone from having no sheep to having 5, even after he paid forward a sheep! As long as he maintains 3 females, he can now eat or sell 2 sheep. That's a potential $100. in his pocket! And the 3 remaining females will produce up to 6 off-spring in the coming months!

Innocente (in the long, black coat) addresses members of the Amizero group.

 

And for the first time, we were joined by 3 very generous sponsor, Roman & Wendy Jovey and Andrea Fine, who were eager to experience Rwanda and see our project.

A whirlwind visit, each day full of insight and adventure, including an Indiana Jones-style trek up and down dense, steep, muddy mountain jungle following elusive chimps, a chance meeting with baboons, and an incredibly up close and personal encounter with the world's only mountain gorillas!

All that in only 3 days!

 

 

Paul also arranged for the opportunity to visit a local school to deliver them various supplies purchased in town (to help the local economy) and to interact with the students while sheep were being tagged for our project nearby.

 

Another trek through farmland, back into the National Park to see Colobus Monkeys...

and finally a visit to our newly fenced, leased land, most immediately being used to temporarily hold sheep being paid forward until delivery can be arranged. The first 139 sheep all spent up to 4 days here before trucks arrived to deliver them. That's a lot of manure to turn into compost!

and then 6 more days on safari in Tanzania! But that's a whole other story...