Moshi, TZ – Gardeners thankful for surprise, their goat is pregnant! – 8 June 2015

The MWM family started their garden with Tupendane in September, 2014. Mr. and Mrs. MWM live with their daughter and her two young children, Joseph and Mary. The family of five work together to maintain their organic vegetable garden in addition to running a one acre farm, which is their primary income source.

Since starting their garden the family has enjoyed improvements in both health and income. They regularly enjoy a variety of vegetables with their including beans, amaranth, nightshade, and eggplants. The family has benefitted financially from the garden by increasing both their income and their savings. Having a home garden means they don’t have to purchase vegetables from the market anymore. Excess vegetables can also be sold to neighbors or to Tupendane, who brings the vegetables into the city to sell.

Over 8 months the family earned and saved a combined 70,000 TZS (US $36.84). They used 50,000 TZS (US $26.31) to purchase a new goat and kept 20,000 TZS as savings. They got very lucky, the goat they bought was pregnant! A few weeks ago it gave birth to a kid and now they have two goats. In addition to providing manure for the garden, the goats are a valuable asset to the family. They are hardy livestock that can be mated to expand the family’s wealth, or sold when the family needs cash.

This has been a very exciting time for the MWM family and they are beginning to dream of improving their livestock operations. They want to build a proper goat banda and later integrate chickens with their activities. Goats, chickens, farming, and gardening have the potential to form a powerful synergy that continuously improves soil health, harvests, and family income.