Setbacks

It’s been a while since I updated the blog. However, a few weeks ago I flew to Burkina Faso to visit Issaka and see how everything is going with his chickens and his business. Getting there, the warm and familiar smell of Ouagadougou awaited me when I exited the airplane.

We spent a few days in the capital, Ouagadougou, because we were waiting for Hassan, a friend of mine, who came up north from Tamale, Ghana, to spend time with us in Burkina.

This was our first evening together.

Here are the four of us (left to right: Hassan, Noeli {Issaka’s girl friend}, Issaka and me) eating dinner, before going to the cinema to watch a movie on the first day that we all got to Ouagadougou.

(Of course, the European is the only one with a spoon. I’ll never learn the hands on thing. I drop my food like a baby if I try…)

So after a few days of me adjusting to the climate, we decided to go to Issaka’s village, Sirgui, so I could see the chicken farm and how everything is going.

When we approached the compound of Issaka’s family, I already recognized that a lot had changed since my last visit, almost ten years ago.

After very heavy rainfalls in August 2016, many people had to rebuild their houses. So not only had the farm been constructed, but the family also rebuilt some stronger houses that offer more comfort and don’t fall on their heads when the heavy rain comes down during the rainy season.

Things have truly changed for the family in the last ten years. As you can see, on the roof of the right house, there is a little solar panel for electricity. They have three of those. One solar panel can power a light in the evening and recharge a few cell phones. It’s usually attached to a medium sized battery to store the energy for the night.

Upon arrival, Issaka introduced me to old and new members of the family. Here are (left to right) Salam and his gold-mining-friend Bukare, Hassan, Karim and his pregnant wife Sofi, Issaka’s Mom, Zanata and me, and Issaka’s Dad:

By the way, that picture is reconstructed from a pic with Issaka’s Family that we took ten years ago:

Here we had some of Issaka’s siblings (left to right): Harouna, Salam, Fatimata, Issaka and Zonabo, Issaka’s Mom, Zanata and me, and Issaka’s Dad.

Then Issaka showed me the farm.

The farm has three houses: Two houses for the chicken and one storage facility.

First, we got comfortable in the place where Hassan and I would sleep: The storage house.

This is Hassan reading a book on our ‘bed’. (… After 4 days, I had to buy a little mattress, because there were points at my hip and my shoulders that just couldn’t take the hard floor anymore.)

Then we carried on, together with Issaka’s brother Karim, to inspect the farm.

Next to my “storage-hotel” was the toilet. (The little straw thing in the middle of the pic.)

The house on the left is the first chicken compound. That was the first building that Issaka built to accommodate the chickens.

Take a closer look.

This article is titled ‘Set backs’ because Issaka had some of those during the last few months. Turns out, building a lucrative business takes humongous dedication and some personal sacrifice to really make it work. Issaka was theoretically well prepared for that, but it’s always a little different in reality… I’ll get into more detail within the following posts though. However, that’s the reason why at this moment, there were no chickens on the farm.

Carry on… The house is split into three compartments, as you can see here.

Each compartment is supposed to house one generation of chickens. Due to the heavy rainfall a few years ago, a lot of water entered the construction and turned the bricks dark.

Since then Issaka took precautions in order to reinforce the structure of the building.

He asked Raoul (a friend of his who I met in Ouagadougou) to protect the walls from the heavy rain and the floods that they sometimes have in June, when the rain falls heavily. Here you can see Issaka explaining to me the difference between the upper part (that does not need protection on the south side) and the lower part that is protected.

Raoul applied the same method of heavy rain protection to the entire back side of the building, because East is where the wind usually smashes the rain against the buildings.

Then we carried on to see the second compound. Issaka built that one after the heavy rainfall. It’s made from cement and therefore more water resistant, but also more expensive than the other building.

Issaka was very proud of this building.

Since Issaka is taking a chicken grooming break, he wanted to put his money somewhere, where it would allow him to reinvest in chicken in a few months time. So he got a pig that was pregnant. That pig had 4 children, who have now grown up…

… and had themselves children a while ago.

Pigs are easier to groom than chickens (as I understand it) but also not as popular, because many inhabitants of Burkina are Muslim and therefore, do not eat pork. Issaka is planning on selling the pigs in order to earn money to start over with his chicken business.

We will see what comes of it during the next few months.

Issaka’s Associates

Today, I would like to introduce Issaka’s team to you. In order to establish a fully functioning company with more than 4000 chicken per year, Issaka needs a team that works with him. In the following picture you can find all associates of the project:From left to right are Siméon, Issaka and Nomenyo Atsu above, and Anaba, Samiratou Ouedraogo and Amed sitting in front of them.

Samiratou is the wife of one of Issaka’s friends. She will support Issaka with her expertise and knowledge concerning animal nutrition.

This is Nomenyo Atsu:Messieur Astu is a former teacher of Issaka. He will be counseling Issaka concerning business affairs of his chicken farm.

Here are Amed, Issaka and Siméon:You all know Issaka and Siméon already. Amed is a friend of Issaka. He was actually our neighbour when I was there in Ouagadougou in 2009. He is a very calm and funny guy. Amed will be the security guard of the farm. In Burkina it is common to have a night guard that protects the property and the animals during the night. Amed will work in Kaya during the day and then head to Sirgui in the evenings in order to stay at the farm. Amed’s and Siméon’s Vita are part of Issaka’s business plan.

This is Anaba:Issaka met Anaba in school in 2011. They were class mates. Issaka took courses in electro mechanics and Anaba took construction design as a major. After finishing the school year, Anaba and Issaka met frequently on construction sites where both would work together. In that way Issaka got to know and appreciate Anaba’s craftsmanship. Anaba builds the brick constructions and the fence for the farm.

Starting off

It has begun. Issaka received the money for the first investments. He immediately started to buy items and hire people for the construction work.

The first thing that Issaka had to get was a motorcycle for the transport of goods and a water tank in order to get water from the village spring.

Lots of young people leave Sirgui when they become of age, since they do not find work in the village. That’s a common problem in the rural areas of Burkina Faso. Many people move to the cities in hope of having a better chance at making some money. So Issaka decided to hire some young workers from his village to construct the buildings. Here they are with a few youngsters from the village that came to check out the construction site.

Among the workers is Issaka’s younger brother Arouna who still lives in Sirgui (he is on the left in front). He is 21 years old now. He was only 15 when I went there to visit the family in 2009 and now he’s a grown young man. How time flies…

Sirgui is in the Sahel-Zone, which is the last vegetation zone before the desert. Surface water is a rare commodity in that region. The first thing that Issaka’s workers did was build a water basin to store some water.

The water basin can hold 2 600 liters of water for the animals, trees and anything that might require fresh water. Issaka will get the water from the village well near by.

The bricks for the compounds are already in the making. Here you can see a small part of them.

All of these bricks are self made from materials found in and around the region. As you can see here, the workers practically use the ground beneath their feet to form bricks and then use the sun’s heat to dry and harden them.

 

Issaka’s land

Personally, I am an avid and dedicated advocate for animal well-being. Therefore I had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of supporting the creation of a farm to breed animals for food. Therefore Issaka assured me that the animals will have a dignified life on his farm. His father, Kimsé has always had chickens even before Issaka was born. He always took very good care of the animals. He even learned their different cries for food, attention, fear, etc.

However, when I calculated the size of the land that Issaka initially wanted to use and the amount of chicken he would like to breed, I discovered that there were too many chickens for such little space. Issaka also realized that this was the case and immediately started looking for solutions. When he told his parents about the project and the current problem, his father Kimsé recognized the merit of Issaka’s endeavor. He offered him part of his land in Sirgui to realize the project.

The land that Kimsé owns entails three and a half hectres in total, until now it was used for agriculture and small traditional animal farming. Here is a picture of the part of Kimsé’s land that Issaka will use for his chicken farm:

The land that Issaka can use for his farm is 74m long and 60m wide. That makes 4500 m² in total. Sirgui is a relatively dry region. It is in the Sahel area, which is the last vegetation zone before the desert. Issaka will plant some trees in order to provide shade for the animals. However, for now he will focus on building constructions made of straw and wood, in order to provide shelter and protection, until the trees are grown.

In the back you can see the Isakka’s family’s compound. On the right hand side you can see constructions like the once that Issaka is planning to build for protecting his animals from the sun. However, those will not be the only buildings in the area. Issaka will have a larger compound of brick buildings. For the planning and construction of these buildings he came up with a blueprint:

Plan de niveau ferme

In total he will have two houses. One with three rooms and one with only one room. The smaller house will be for storage. Each of the three rooms of the larger house will be for the chickens. The room to the left of the house will house the 33 breeding chicken. The middle room will have the incubator for the chicks. The room on the right side of the building will house the teenage chicken; those that are old enough to run around, but not yet grown adults.

The front of the larger building will have a terrace for the chickens to mingle.

The entire area will be surrounded by a metal fence, protecting the chickens from predators and thieves.

Only two sides of the larger building will have walls. One side of the building will have open doors while the right sight of the building will be totally open.

The storage house will be 12m² and the larger house will be 147m². Each room in the larger house will be 28m². To make sure also all the chickens that grow up on the farm are sheltered from the rain and the sun, Issaka will rely on the straw constructions mentioned above. The chickens will only have to enter the house for food.

Issaka’s Business

In november 2014 Issaka went to an internship in Bissiri. Bissiri is a village near the town of Kombissiri, a medium sized town in Burkina Faso. He initially went there following an invitation from Siméon.

Siméon Belem is Issaka’s friend. He invited Issaka to spend his summer vacation with him. While Issaka was in Bissiri, Siméon took Issaka to see the farm where Siméon received his formal education in chicken farming and meet his boss. Issaka ended up working for that company for the next two summers together with Siméon. During that time the idea of starting his own chicken farm was born. Now Siméon will be one of Issaka’s associates in this project.

After a while of playing with the thought of starting his own chicken farm, Issaka contacted me to tell me about his idea. I asked him to write a business plan in order to show the feasibility of his idea and shape it inside his head. Issaka sat down and after two weeks I had a 15 page business plan in my hands; we spent a lot of time discussing all the aspects of the plan. I asked him a million questions and he incorporated all of his answers into the plan. Here is the final document that he came up with:

Issaka’s business plan

The plan consists of 3 parts. Part one elaborates in detail the how and why of the project and how it will be organized. Part two describes the finances and accounting. Part three entails the Curricula Vitae of Issaka and his associates.

In order to know whether his company would be financially successful, Issaka had to calculate the revenue he could potentially make and the costs. He demonstrated his predictions and calculations using tables describing his expenses and earnings, which allowed him to estimate the financial sustainability of his farm. The document can be viewed here:

Issaka’s provisional accounting

The whole financial document is explained in part two of the business plan. However, page eight (the last page) of this document is the most important one, because it shows the profitability that Issaka predicts. While reading this document please bear in mind that many small businesses in Burkina do not follow a plan as strict as this one, because the societal structures are different than ours. But since Issaka asked for a private loan, it was very important to the lenders that he is very precise with all his calculations. Please, check out these documents and let us know of any feedback you may have for us.

Sirgui and Issaka’s Family

Sirgui is a village 18 km away from Kaya. Kaya is the nearest big city and also the capital of the region. With 67.000 inhabitants Kaya is one of the largest cities in Burkina Faso. The area of Sirgui however, has about 4500 inhabitants. In Burkina Faso, as in most other poor African countries, it is the case that the rural areas are usually worse off than the cities. While life in the cities is in many ways a lot like in European cities, living on the countryside is much different.

This is the compound in which Issaka grew up. Issaka’s parents still live there with four of Issaka’s siblings:

The two small structures on the left are for storage. The larger complex in the middle (the few houses that are joined by walls) is the housing area. And the structure wrapped in straw on the right hand side is a small school where Issaka’s Mom and many other inhabitants of Sirgui learned how to read and write when I was visiting the family in 2009. Issaka could read and write long before his mother got the opportunity to learn it.

Here are Kibsa and Kimsé, Issaka’s Mom and Dad.

As you can see, the family always had chickens. However, usually the chickens run around free and are bread to feed only the family, not other people. But that’s about to change…

Here are Issaka and me with some of Issaka’s siblings that still live in Sirgui.

From left to right are Arouna , Salam, Fatimata and her child, Issaka, Zonabo in front of Issaka, Issaka’s mother Kibsa, Martin (me), Sanata in front of me, and Issaka’s dad Kimsé. In total Issaka has 10 brothers and sisters. Only the 5 in the picture still live in Sirgui. The others left for the big cities and one of Issaka’s brothers recently died. However, things are slowly advancing for the family. For instance, the younger sisters can go to school and won’t have an arranged marriage, which is still a common practice in Burkina Faso. When I was visiting, Issaka took me around to meet the people of Sirgui. Most people there live in extreme poverty. The majority of the folks in that region are farmers, but since the region has gold, many young men decide to work as miners hoping to improve their living conditions.

In the summer of 2009, Issaka took me to the mines. He was brave enough to climb down one of the mine shafts, but I was too scared to do so. The mine shafts are up to 12 meters deep and do not have any support structures in place, since people don’t have the funds for the proper security measures. Every once in a while somebody gets buried alive in a mine shaft.

With his chicken farm, Issaka, will create a more stable financial situation for his family; in hopes that his siblings will never have to work in a gold mine. With Issaka starting a chicken farm in his village, the probability of his family having a decent, reliable, and continuous income will increase dramatically. And that brings the world one tiny step closer to alleviating extreme poverty.

Introducing Issaka

Dear friends and supporters,

This blog will collect information and updates regarding the founding, construction, and commencement of Issaka’s chicken farm.

Issaka has been a friend of mine since 2009. He lives in Burkina Faso, West Africa. His farm will be located near the rural village Sirgui, near the town of Kaya, in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Issaka’s family lives in this village, and his father owns some land in this rural area. He gave some of that land to Issaka. Now, Issaka wants to start his own business there.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. As in most countries with extreme poverty, it is very hard for the inhabitants to get out of the spiral of poverty. Issaka is a young fellow who struck me as capable of achieving his goal, so I decided to support him in his quest for bettering his and his family’s living conditions.

If possible, please comment on the posts here in French. Issaka does not speak English, but I will write in English so that more people can follow the process of Issaka creating his own chicken farm.

I attached a picture of Issaka on his land.

Have fun following up on his endeavors.

Thanks for your support,

Martin