Hello,
My name is Esther Mulwa. I am 31 years old, and a mom of two ages 10 and 13. I am the 3rd born and the only daughter in the family among three brothers, so you can guess how interesting and tough my childhood was. I still recall trying to outdo my brothers in riding a bike which resulted in a nasty fall and fractured foot.
Luckily, I was daddy’s girl. I got through the normal education system – from primary school, secondary school and finally joined the university. My father was a military officer and my mom was a homemaker.
My family had a decent life. Unfortunately, everything changed when our father passed away in 2004 during a UN peacekeeping mission set to monitor a ceasefire in the border war between Ethiopia and Eretria. At the time of his death, I was just 2 months old pregnant, which made his passing more difficult because he was the sole breadwinner.
The most difficult part was when I got stuck in the hospital with a newborn baby boy because I could not raise KSH36.000 (USD 360) to clear my bill after cesarean section delivery. Since then, it has been a financial challenge raising my son.
Luckily, we do not have to pay rent because we live at the family’s house. Due to financial constraints, I had to put my university education on hold, where I was pursuing a Degree in Social Studies.
My mom through her widower’s pension could not raise the tuition fees. So, I had to take dead semesters, which made learning difficult and prolonged.
From the KSH (Kenya Shilling) above, you can guess I am from Kenya. I am proud to be of Earth, Africa, and Kenya. We have our hardships but we still afford a smile.
When I am not tending to my broiler chickens, gardening or yelling at my kids, I am usually reading self-help books and currently reading Emotional Intelligence by David Goleman. I also enjoy watching movies, especially animation, which usually never ends well due to constant interruptions from the kids.
Through a friend who later became my partner and the father of my second child, I was introduced to freelancing online as a ghostwriter. I have written web content for Valley Direct Media and Helium.com both defunct, oDesk now UpWork and other individual clients.
From working with clients, I discovered Google AdSense and Amazon Affiliate programs. I started my own website in 2011 with my partner’s help and signed up for these programs. Since then the website has grown to about 30,000 page views monthly bringing about Euro150 from AdSense and USD30-50 from Amazon. I still write for clients directly which brings 50-100 on a good month.
Money from the above ventures pays for food stuff, toiletries, electrical, water, TV and internet bills, kids’ recreation and cloth items. In short, it all goes to sustaining our lives.
Currently, I continue to run my website and broiler chicken farming. The website provides our daily bread while broiler chickens pay for my kids’ tuition. I do not rely heavily on freelance writing has it “comes and goes”.
My website running costs are relatively low. It costs USD30 per month to pay for hosting and free maintenance by my partner. I have considered hiring writers to assist me in creating more content but currently, it’s not financially feasible. So, I am the only content creator and editor of the website.
The poultry business makes the most and also consumes most of my time, especially during the first 3 weeks. I aim for 300-400 birds which are ready for the market in 6 weeks.
At this age, they have a slaughter weight of 1.5 kilograms (3.3lbs) and a kilogram goes for KSH270 (USD 2.6) so a bird will cost KSH405 (USD 3.9). 405x400 = KES162,000 (USD 1,566).
A day old chick costs KES65 (USD 0.63). 400x65 = KES26,000 (USD 251)
A bird consumes about 3 kilograms (6.6lbs) of feed in 6 weeks. 400 birds consume 1600Kgs (3527lbs) of feed which translates to KES72,000 (USD 696).
Heating costs, litter (wood shavings), nutrition supplements, vaccines and visits by a vet costs KES15,000 (USD 145).
Total costs average KES113,000 (USD 1,092) leaving a profit of KES49,000 (USD 473) subject to tax.
The profit goes to paying tuition for my two kids, which costs KES18,000 per child. KES36,000 (USD 348) as well as health insurance cover.
I settled for poultry keeping due to the high demand of chicken for the ever growing fast food industry in Kenya, the fast growth rate of broiler chickens and the free time I get to focus on other areas in my life such as my family, website, and garden.
My proximity to the capital city Nairobi as well as the industrial town Thika ensures there is always demand for the chicken.
I also have future plans of setting a small greenhouse that can house 500 hybrid tomato plants for additional income.
Hello,
Thank you for the continued support. With my last loan, I improved a portion of my vegetable garden, but the yields were low. My whole garden was infested by powdery mildew and aphids, forcing me to uproot most of the plants. I was instructed to treat the soil with pesticide before planting new crops.
I would like to ask for a loan to purchase a 20-litre knapsack sprayer for this purpose. It cost about $23 to $25 (KES 2500).
Regards,
Esther