Local expertise helps raise healthy pigs in Burundi

The lush countryside of Burundi The green highlands of the central Burundi have regular rainfall and abundant sunshine, making them prime locations for growing vegetables and raising livestock. Unfortunately, many people in the area experience malnutrition, consuming mostly grains and tubers without a lot of vegetables or meat. The Association for the Protection and Promotion of the Rights to Education of the Poor (APDEI; in French, Association pour la Protection et la Promotion des droits à l’éducation des indigents), which has been an SIA Grant Partner since 2022, is working to improve nutrition by helping community members grow their own leafy green vegetables and raise rabbits and pigs. Read about APDEI’s garden project and how changing government regulations reduced the number of cows in the area and all but eliminated milk from people’s diets. The beautiful thing about SIA Grants is that they go directly to people who are equipped and ready to improve lives in their communities. In the philanthropy world, this is an example of the “localization agenda,” but to us, it is recognizing that our grant partners are the experts. Listening for what's needed Originally, APDEI’s grant proposal was to buy piglets to distribute to households to increase protein intake and provide manure for new vegetable gardens. When the APDEI team met with community members in the Nyakararo area, they found a savings association of 30 women who were already working on a similar project. The women met regularly to contribute a small amount to the savings fund, and as their savings grew, they purchased pigs for each member. Unfortunately, although these women were organized in terms of the savings group, none of them had experience in pig farming. When the APDEI technical team visited Adelaide's, the association's president's, house they found four very thin female piglets. Though the sows should have been old enough to have piglets their diet of grass and a few kitchen scraps left them emaciated. Adelaide, the savings group president, was eager to learn how to help her skinny pig. That was when the APDEI realized that instead of buying piglets, they should prioritize strengthening the technical skills of these women farmers. “We gave them advice on feeding and renovating the pigsty to meet the required pig farming standards, with a shelter to keep the pigs out of the rain and intense sun,” the technician reported. APDEI also helped the farmers access nutritional feed and deworming medications for their pigs. After two months, Adelaide called the program manager to thank him and tell him that her pigs had recovered and were now pregnant! These women, grateful for the skills development, are now serving as role models and coaches for other women in the area. Adelaide, with her healthy pig, two months after APDEI's information sessions. A single-minded funding organization without local expertise could have restricted grant money to buying piglets, but with APDEI’s local connection (local staff members work and live in the community with those receiving assistance), they heard from the women that what they wanted was training and guidance. This is the power of locally-led development to bring lasting change to communities. *Tanya and SIA Board Vice President Amber Picou will be visiting Burundi and APDEI in August! Stay tuned for updates.