At a first glance building a facility for keeping small domestic animals doesn’t seem to have something in common with education. The Cologne-based NGO ident.africa has proven otherwise: a chicken farm under the supervision of “Mama Marie” enables women in the north of Cameroon to reinforce their professional autonomy. The earned revenue is supposed to be used for paying school fees, school uniforms, books and stationery.
The project was initiated by Lassiri Yadia Marie, also known as Mama Marie. The idea arose in 2010. The women of Boboyo gathered to discuss how they can support the development of their village. Everyone knew that improving women’s economic independence would be an essential part of it. This is where Mama Marie’s idea of a chicken farm came in. Because the women were excited about having the chance to be self-employed, they decided to contact Fred-Eric Essam, founder and chairman of ident.africa, to ask for the seed capital.
Fred-Eric Essam and his team are always focusing on sustainable projects. This new approach seemed to be very promising and everyone knew ident.africa has to support it. “Mama Marie is an incredible strong woman, with whom we love to work closely”, explains Fred-Eric Essam, founder and chairman of ident.africa. “She just knows how to put projects on the right track. The manageable amount of money seemed to be an appropriate way to try something new.”
Ident.africa started with a seed capital of 4,800 Euros. Mama Maria agreed on providing parts of her land. In the meanwhile approximately 450 chicken are raised on the farm.
The women support each other by teaching themselfs the principles of the principles and practices of poultry farming, as well as calculating and writing. That enables them to sell the chicken and eggs on the market.
A flour mill also became part of the farm. Three new ones are planned. According to Mama Maria the mill is not only used to for forage production, but to miller corn, milo and other stuff for preparing food for the family. This makes everyday work much easier and saves a lot of time.
Lassiri Yadia Marie became a reliable partner who always contributes her affords to a general welfare. Thanks to her efforts, the sewing shop “Atelier Mama Marie” already was build from the ground, allowing 16 young ladies to recive an apprenticeship in sewing.
