Kiva Chicken Farm

We have ten chickens, which lay around sixty eggs per week; enough for ourselves and a few friends.  Noah's been helping to look after the chickens over the past couple of years, so we asked him to run it as a small farm - a bit like a real life simulation game - with the profits going to help low income individuals in developing countries lift themselves and their families out of poverty.    

Noah collects the eggs and helps with feeding the chickens and cleaning the enclosures.  We give him a notional payment of 50c per egg.  This income is used to pay for the necessary food, bedding materials and a small weekly 'rent' for the animals and their enclosures. The income and expenses are recorded in a ledger.

At the end of each month, any profits are used to make loans to low-income entrepreneurs in developing countries through Kiva: http://www.kiva.org/.  This inspirational non-profit organisation makes it easy for people around the globe to make micro finance loans to individuals struggling to improve their lives.  It works on the principle that the poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given the opportunity.

Kiva are currently running an awareness campaign that allows existing lenders to invite friends to make a free loan, so why not give it a go:   http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/noahrubyandsam6578

Carpet Python

This beautiful animal is found in most habitats in Eastern Australia, ranging from rainforest to arid and coastal regions. It's also commonly found in the roofs of suburban houses!


The Carpet Python is non venomous and is not generally aggressive towards humans unless threatened; although it's hard not to feel intimidated by a snake that can reach 3.5 metres long.


Its mottled black, brown and gold skin provides almost perfect camouflage as it rests in trees during the day and moves along the ground at night in search of prey.


It's a voracious predator of small mammals and birds, including poultry, as we discovered when our gorgeous little bantam chickens began to disappear...


Although the carpet python population in Queensland is considered to be secure, their biggest threat comes from cane toads; if a snake is exposed to the cane toad toxin, it will die very quickly.

Chickens

Chickens are amazing... one of the most useful animals on the planet.


Some of the important jobs they do include: providing wonderful nutritious eggs and healthy meat, fertilising the soil with their poo, eating kitchen scraps, preparing the ground for planting and getting rid of unwanted garden pests like grasshoppers, beetles and snails.


For all of these reasons, chickens are an important source of food and income for families in developing countries. So, next time you're having a birthday, consider making a 'Wish List' with Oxfam Unwrapped and asking your friends to make a gift of a chicken (or a duck, goat, piglet or even a buffalo!) to someone who really needs it instead of a present for yourself.