SELF SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS

Wednesday 16 February

John was able to outline his current financial position by providing us with his bank statements.  These acknowledged the receipt of the US$5000 on January 20 and confirmed his current balance.  The discrepancy between the two figures could be fully explained by the receipt and ledger books he kept.   The ledger corresponded exactly with his receipts, which were of great detail – 8 poles, 40L of petrol etc.  Each receipt contained the signatures of the vendor and Big John thus verifying the transaction.   We were highly impressed by his professionalism and it was evidence that we could be 100% confident that every cent was accounted for.    


Satisfied that the requisite level of accountability had been achieved we began to discuss with John other smaller scale undertakings.  Guided by the view that for projects like this one to prosper they must be self-sustaining we began to explore some possible income-producing ventures.

Maize Mill

The main staple of the orphan diet is posho and beans.  A couple of times a week John takes maize to a local grinding mill where it is ground into maize flour which when boiled with water is made into posho.  The cost of grinding the maize is UGSH100 per kilo.  We visited the one mill in the Namiya district and were impressed by the meticulous work involved as well as the demand for this service.  

Big John and the Headmaster Patrick Olge had met with the KidsWorldWide East Africa Supervisor Emma Young in October and they had both agreed on the benefits of operating their own Maize Mill at Kidron.  Primarily it would save them the cost of  grinding their own supplies of maize but secondly it would provide the school with a reliable source of income. 


The grinding process is documented below: 

  

Entrance to the Maize Mill where growers initially have their maize weighted.
It is ground at a cost of UGSH100 p/kg

Maize corn placed through the grinder 2-3 times. 

This by-product can be fed to the chicks

Putting corn through the huller to make into maize flour

Maize flour

Tomorrow, we plan to look into the Maize Mill with greater detail.  They can be powered by either electricity or diesel and whilst diesel is much cheaper, big John suggested it is much less efficient in terms of the speed of processing the maize corn.  We are going to visit a few more active Maize Mills around Jinja to get a better idea of which system would be more suitable.

Chicken Coup:

Producing eggs for commercial and local sale is a highly lucrative business in Jinja.  Not only would it provide the school with a daily income it would also allow Big John to integrate eggs into the children’s diet at a relatively low cost.  We approached a chicken breeder in Jinja who sells each chick for Ugandan Shillings UGSH2500 which is equivalent to approximately US$1.   The chicks are yours from Day 1 and so it is crucial that one understands the nurturing process.  Chicken expert Peter from local company "UGTchicks" was able to outline the vaccination program and the various feeds, while another expert Steve discussed a timber coup vis-à-vis a brick coup.   

We will build the less expensive timber coup with the capacity to house 500 chicks, although to begin with we think 300 chicks might be enough!  Should John wish to develop this further he will have the means to expand himself.   Big John has provided us with a provisional budget:

Tentative Budget of Chicken Coup
	Object	Qty	Cost	Total Cost (UGshs)
	Metal Iron Sheets	52	20,000	1,040,000
	Poles	150	3500	525,000
	Timber	66	10,000	660,000
	Wire Mesh	15	15,000	225,000
	Screen	2 rolls	100,000	200,000
	Nails	30kgs	3,500	105,000
	Doors	3 doors	80,000	240,000
	Labor			300,000
			TOTAL	3,295,000
			USD	$1,433

The chicks do not start to produce eggs until they are five months old, so we have given Big John an undertaking that we will set up the coup and cover his costs until he is cash flow positive.  To ensure that Big John is completely able to stand on his own two feet we will also cover the feed costs for the first two weeks of laying.  This undertaking will cost the trust approximately US$1400.  This outlay is entirely justified as once the eggs do start to produce it is estimated that Big John will generate US$20 per day.

Once the chicks have completed their laying period of 18months they can be sold for UGSH 5000, which will enable John to repurchase chicks and start process for a second time.    Please see below the feasibility study. 

Chicken Coup for 500

KIDRON CHICKEN OPERATION

		No. of chickens: 300 400 500 REVENUE (UGSH) Sale of Eggs 22,500,000 30,000,000 37,500,000 sale of completed chicken 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 Total Revenue 24,000,000 32,000,000 40,000,000 COSTS Chicken 750,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 Feed 0-8 weeks 564,000 752,000 940,000 9 - 20 weeks 1,370,400 1,827,200 2,284,000 21 - 22 weeks** 403,200 537,600 672,000 Drinkers 114,000            114,000         114,000 Drugs 1 vile 15,000 20,000 25,000 2 vile 51,000 68,000 85,000 IB vac 9,000 9,000 9,000 Trust cost 3,276,600 4,213,800 5,265,000 USD 1,425 1,832 2,289

John's residual income after trust covers costs over first two weeks of selling eggs:

Sale of EGGS		1,050,000	1,400,000	1,750,000
USD		457	609	761

Daily income from sale of eggs:

Sale of eggs daily		250	250	250
Cost of layer feed daily		96	96	96
		154	154	154
Total income per day		46,200	61,600	77,000
	USD	20	27	33