Education through poultry farming

Lucas

Gesonso, Kisii, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Lucas

Member since

December 2015

On-time repayments

227 installments  •  78%

About Me

I was born in one of the poorest and violent "hoods" of Thika. Second born in a family of Six brothers and sisters, it was not easy growing up. Many days we went without food, but mama was determined to send us all to school. Her belief was that at least with a high school education, we could get by, and be ready for the job market. I got good grades in high school, and I could see myself in Uni. However, this was not to be.

Mama had to make a tough choice. My elder brother had wanted to go to college or trade school, but that did not happen because I had to be put through high school. So when it was my time, I had hoped that a miracle would happen and that all would be better. The truth is nothing got better. I too had to make room for my siblings to be educated. The entire amount I would need for one semester of University was enough to put my siblings through two years of schooling.

In desperation and a desire to help out, I started taking odd jobs here and there, ending up at the factory gates of the Industrial section of the district. In between providing a supplementary income to the family and trying to push myself ahead, I was inwardly suffering and languishing. Here I was, with good high school grades, jostling for position to carry heavy boxes around and other menial jobs with people who would transform to robbers at night, and muggers.

I wanted more, and so one day while at the gates begging to be taken in for a days casual job, I felt hopeless and lost. On my way home, having failed to secure a job for the day, I decided I had had enough. I never went back to the factories again. Instead, I sought solace in the only place that had meaning to me; a district library about four kilometers form where we lived.

This led to conflicts at home, and several months later, with my younger brother through with high school, I was technically ostracized from the family. I was not providing, and had no business eating or sleeping in that house.

I moved out and started applying some skills I had taught myself repairing electronics. It was the dawn of the mobile phone revolution, and I became a repairer for hire. This was also the time that I converted to Christianity.

Shortly thereafter I married and settled, but still felt I needed more. Over time, I managed to put myself through Uni, graduating in Dec. 2015. I am on course to completing a Masters degree sometimes in late 2016, or mid 2017.

UPDATE:
(I completed my MA in late 2018, and graduated in 2019!)

My Business

Every venture has its learning and growing curve. Raising poultry got me out of a comfort zone that I was living in ignorantly. I have had to go through the whole cycle of raising chickens from hatchery to market. It is tedious, but done right it is rewarding. But so is the mining of the most precious metal on earth, platinum.

Through the loans, I have managed to do the chicken business differently. I have bought chicks, have had my chicken hatch chicks, have burnt my fingers in lost stock due to diseases, and have enjoyed profits that have gone a long way to achieve my goal; education for my family.

As before, I am opting to leave my previous write-ups so you can have a background of my business.

Please do read, and let my story and previous writing on "My Business" add to what I have briefly written.

________________________________

I am presently engaged in raising chicken. Not much has changed from the below writeups in terms of what I do. I did use the third loan to manage feeding and some more modifications in the chicken coop. I can report that I have reached that point where I can now shift focus to hatching eggs and selling month old chicks to farmers and other growers.

˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜

I used the second loan to increase my current stock levels and to make improvements in the chicken coop. Of the 100 more chicks I procured, I lost some to an unknown cause. They just kept dying. I suspect that my supplier might have got me "tired" chicks. A neighbor's dog also took advantage over the period I was making improvements and I lost six birds in one night.

I also was able to find ways of bringing down the feed costs, by mixing several ingredients and milling them together. The chicken seemed to like it! The birds have started laying too, which is good because with time I can start selling eggs and the live chicken.

Currently I have about two hundred birds, all in different stages of growth. nine birds, and the parent stock has started laying fertilized eggs. I am applying for this third loan to be able to increase my stock levels and to make even more improvements in the chicken coop to be able to house the birds. Below, again, is my earliest write up of the business.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early 2015, I started making plans for going into agri business. I saw potential in the chicken business, and made investment towards it. I built a standard chicken coop that can house between three hundred and five hundred birds.

The reason for going into chicken is because I realized that the farmers in Kisii cannot satisfy the existing demand for chicken and eggs. Eggs are being imported from Uganda. Also, the retail prices of the eggs and chicken are higher than in other areas.

I currently have twenty two birds, with an additional fifty on the way. It is a hardy breed that will require less input with a higher return on investment. I am seeking a loan to increase the number of birds to a number that can sustain itself, with my aim being my own hatchery. This will reduce my costs of production per bird by almost thirty percent (30%). With increased profits, I can manage to increase the stock of the birds and construct another coop.

I am aiming to be the person people come to when they want affordable chicken in Kisii. To achieve this, I am seeking someone, or people who will see beyond the cry for self preservation and into the desire to break free of the poverty cycle, not just for myself, but others too, by providing them with affordable food sources; someone or people to lend me a hand and see this vision come true.

Loan Proposal

With this loan I will buy a better mill compared to what I got previously. This will help me mill and stay on track with making feeds that I can sell after I meet my chicken feeding needs. What I have in mind is a mill made of better metal that does not break down as often, and whose overall maintenance cost in the long run is sustainable.

Feedback

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$666.00

Date disbursed

Sep 21, 2019

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

7 months

Lenders

J

jeffb

United States

frankcalberg

Zürich, Switzerland

A

Anninymouse

Southampton, United Kingdom

G

GalantnostS

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

E

Errol

Bradenton, FL, United States

Brian

Midhurst, Canada

valentin

Stockholm, Sweden

R

Raabo

Rungsted, Denmark

investor

Candiac, Canada

Elinor

Maple Lake, MN, United States

PaulE

Cockeysville, MD, United States

AltruisticSelfishnes

Chicago, United States

C

ColinPlatt

Montgomery Village, United States

B

Bpryse

Long beach, United States

W

winfried

Seoul, Republic of Korea

LadyofHats

Hamburg, Germany

S

soren

Göteborg, Sweden

ninamaqami

Ankara, Turkey

F

faical

Cologne, Germany

L

ldron7

Utah, United States

Martin

Manama, Bahrain

J

javakonsole

Berlin, Germany

T

Tallago3

Munich, Germany

Pere

Barcelona, Spain

johnandmoliehi

Canton, New York, United States

Lorax

Around, United States

T

ToddK

Indianapolis, IN, USA, United States

C

cjmenchaca

Austin, United States

helogr53

Abbotsford, Canada

P

pmyadlowsky

Charlottesville, United States

A

AlexCheng

Seattle, United States

C

CrazyCanuck

Nepean, Canada

L

lujabe

Melbourne, Australia

Karilynn

Mountain View, United States

A

anonymous123

United States

C

cyrilleberger

Gammalkil, Sweden

F

florian

Mettmenstetten, Switzerland

G

graememoss

Amsterdam, Netherlands

S

suzerain

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mannysgirl

Surrey, Canada

MM

Mollie Milesi

Jeruslem, Israel

SeeMeeFi

Ontario, Canada

F

fake_name

Boston, United States

D

duckdork

De Forest, United States

Erica

Caledon, Canada

Cloudways

Malta, Malta

Andreas1974

Fristad, Sweden

M

MichaelJames

London, United Kingdom

A

Austrian

Graz, Austria

Jouni

Finland

Paul and Rachel

London, United Kingdom

AdvancingCompassion

San Diego, United States

S

SvenWaage

Stavanger, Norway

juliemartha

Lake Mary, United States

peanut

Halifax, Canada

zphelj

Dallas, United States

ads68

Melbourne, Australia

C

CheapThrills

Liminka, Finland

P

Peksa

Espoo, Finland

V

Valis

Singapore, Singapore

B

boronat

Brussels, Belgium

mrgonzalo

San Francisco, CA, United States

A

Andy

Berlin, United States

nakamura

United States

G

glh25

Winooski, United States

fairspirit

Utrecht, Netherlands

bycyt

Whitefish, United States

MichaelOsburg

Hochheim, Germany

I

ianb723

ROCHESTER, United States

U

UTLonghorn

Lincoln, United States

JTShorty

Gorham, Maine, United States

BF

Bob Fitzjohn

Fontvielle, Monaco, Yemen

G

Goldrivermob

Gold River, Canada

K

Krish

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

C

Colmena

Chicago, United States

Hedwich

Gorssel, Netherlands

iamdaimo

London, United Kingdom

M

mlepisto

Florida, United States

A

anonalender

Hampshire, United Kingdom

A

AndrewC

London, United Kingdom

R

RickRozemuller

Groningen, Netherlands

S

Sreval

Manly, Australia

P

Pavane

Kungsbacka, Sweden

R

ronimo

Brussels, Belgium

O

Ohio

Ohio, United States

soniad

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

MarshFamilyUK

Canterbury, United Kingdom

ibc123

Seattle, United States

C

cranejoad

cazenovia, United States

xtrahardware

Cazenovia, United States

B

BMcDermott

Washington, DC, United States

Sodermansb

Raleigh, NC, United States

mikeice

Kohler, United States

G

GanSatya

United States

sderickson

Berkeley, CA, United States

J

janakan

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Z

zvrk2014

Brookline, MA, United States

pvilliger

Zurich, Switzerland

M

Malibu

Westwood, United States

J

jake7705

Wilsonville, United States

D

drorm

United States

cc5alive

Los Angeles, United States

R

Rootdet

Fairfax, United States

ColinHicks

Chichester, United Kingdom

N

nlane

Vietnam

D

DanielH

United States

S

Samhall8

Brandon, Canada

N

nswanberg

United States

M

Michi

Switzerland

M

merk85

United States

B

bugdaniel

Switzerland

bb4dogs

United States

mepster

San Francisco, Ca, United States

chriseyre

Fremont, Ca, United States

T

tmarkus

Netherlands

B

bscent

Hong Kong

V

vbud

United States

Grant Xavier Storer

Seattle, Wa, United States

ThomasJosef

Berlin, Germany

S

sarahb

United States

Pascal Coyles

Ghent, Belgium

Otto Barten

Amsterdam, Netherlands

B

beegkitty

United States

S

StefanB

Stockholm, Sweden

HL

Holly Laird

Austin, United States

S

Stephan

Netherlands

K

Kristiina

All Countries

JL

Joao Leal

United Kingdom

Darcy

Ottawa, Canada

S

Sven

Netherlands

T

TZ

Singapore, Singapore

Jeroen Decock

Gent, Belgium

Dave Bogard

New York, United States

Karijn

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Roy

Espoo, Finland

A

Alexander

Innsbruck, Austria

SteveFylde

United Kingdom

Elias

Ulm, Germany

MW

Matt Willis

United States

W

Wade

United States

MB

michael breen

United Kingdom

SA

Scott Astrada

United States

DF

Daniel Fehr-Krahn

Winnipeg, Canada

Kate Courteau

United States

Craig

Memphis, TN, United States

Lou Kaucic

Sanbornton, NH, United States

CN

Cyprien Noel

United States

moursund

Beaver Nation, United States

Kevin

San Francisco, United States

KL

Ket Lin

United States

Oliver Hasenberg

Iserlohn, Germany

TH

tom hd

United Kingdom

MR

Michiel Rauws

San Francisco, Netherlands

Carla

Amsterdam, Netherlands

R

Rahel

Austria

Aylsham Rotary

Aylsham, Norfolk, Uk, United Kingdom

Mark Grey

Redding, CT, United States

E

eriklonnroth

United Kingdom

GT

Gowan Tervo

United States

NB

Neil Barnes

Molalla, United States

G

Grace

Australia

Aran Dunlop

United States

MS

Mark S Yourek

United States

wissam

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Alicia

United States

Rosario von Li

San Jose, Ca, United States

A

Andrei

United States

N

Nino

Switzerland

A

Adam

United Kingdom

Arnaud M

Sydney, Australia

P

Peter

Bratislava, Slovakia

Taylor

Memphis, United States

SH

Steven Huntington

London, United Kingdom

Rory McLaughlin

Dallas, United States

Carlo Cruz

Cincinnati, OH, United States

P

Peter

Germany

Thomas

Sweden, Sweden

Gabriel Fenili

Santo André, Brazil

LD

Luã de Souza

Sydney, Brazil

roark22

Geneva, Switzerland

Ren

Minneapolis/StPaul, United States

JH

Joseph Hwang

Houston, United States

Kathleen Coleman

Oregon, United States

Erin

Santa Barbara, United States

SR

Sean Rodgers

Wellington, New Zealand

Sayuri

United Kingdom

Ask Lucas a question about this project, share news and photos of your own, or send a simple note of thanks or inspiration.

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