Thriving with Chickens 

Srey and her family used to go hungry, lived in an unsafe house and her children didn’t have what they needed for school. But with the gift of chickens, she now meets all of her family’s needs. 

When Srey needs to purchase new school shoes for her children, or buy more rice at the market, she goes out into her yard and searches for a chicken or two.

They’re a bit hard to catch, but she’s good at it. Dozens of them are walking around, scratching the ground and pecking at the homemade chicken feed she makes. Once she catches two or three chickens and takes them to market, the income she makes will feed her family for two weeks — or give her the income she needs for another important purchase.

Life is so much easier now. And this is because of her chickens.

Living in Poverty in Cambodia

Srey and her husband have two children, 13-year-old Sophal and 10-year-old Veha. When we first met them, they were living in deep poverty in rural Cambodia. Their tiny house was dilapidated, with a leaky roof and no toilet. Their drinking water was dirty and often got them sick. They grew rice on their small plot of land, but they only had enough for five months out of the year. They went hungry the rest of the time.

They had a few chickens, and hoped that they would help with their family’s nutrition and income. But they didn’t really know what they were doing enough for their flock to grow and become profitable.

Their village chief and other authorities saw that Srey’s family needed help, and referred them to Holt Cambodia. Immediately, we provided them with the emergency help they needed — rice, noodles, canned fish, cooking oil and garlic. The children received new school uniforms and school supplies to continue in their education.

Then, Holt Cambodia focused on what would help Srey and her family in the long term, and invited her to join their income-generating program.

Income Generating Programs to Overcome Poverty

In Cambodia and around the world, Holt sponsors and donors support income-generating programs as one of the most powerful ways to lift a family from poverty. Income-generating opportunities are specially tailored to each family and their skills, interests and abilities, and result in sustainable, long-term help that empowers them to change their lives for good.

In Ethiopia, women learn to grow their own food to feed their family and sell extra produce for a profit. There’s a family in Vietnam raising pigs to help them get by after tragedy struck. Sewing machines empower moms in India to start their own small businesses. Again and again, all it takes is the right resources and opportunities, and a family will be empowered to change their lives and overcome poverty.

Investing in Chickens

Holt Cambodia got to know Srey and her family, their needs and their skills. They decided that investing in more chickens would be the right opportunity for her. But families don’t just receive the items they need to get started. They also receive the support and training to ensure their success.

In addition to the chickens, Srey attended three rounds of training courses where she learned how to best take care of them. She knows how to make homemade chicken feed out of natural resources she can gather near her home. She knows how to line the chicken coop with cloth sacks to keep baby chicks warm when it freezes, and to spray their area with water in the heat to keep them cool. Each summer, she gives the chickens a dose of vaccine to keep them from getting sick. She understands the characteristics of her chickens, can respond when they need additional care, and is attentive to keeping them fed, watered and healthy.

And the result? A thriving, growing flock of chickens. Every day, her family has nutritious eggs to eat. She sells eggs at the market, and sells full-grown chickens for an even greater profit. Just this spring, she sold 16 of her full-grown chickens. With this income, she invested in 50 more chicks to raise — bringing her grand total to over 100 chickens!

Because of chickens, she and her children’s lives have improved dramatically.

A Better Life

Srey began this new journey of raising chickens in in 2020, and each year since then, she’s been able to grow her chicken business and invest in life-changing improvements for her family.

Just one year after receiving the chickens, they had enough income to build a new house — made with fresh, clean palm leaves and palm wood. And they could afford this after selling just three generations of chicks!

The next year, with income from their chickens, they could afford to improve upon their new house — building new walls, a covered back porch, a kitchen area and a hygienic bathroom. But the improvements span far beyond their new, safer home.

Sophal and Veha now have all the school supplies they need, and they were even able to purchase two new bicycles so that they could more safely travel the 3-kilometer distance to school.

And perhaps most life-changing of all, they no longer go hungry. Fresh eggs keep them nourished each day, and even their home garden is thriving with more money to invest in seeds, and chicken manure to help the plants flourish. Their next financial goal is to purchase more farmland to grow more rice and vegetables.

“Her family thrives on raising chickens,” says their Holt Cambodia social worker. “Soon, they will be able to grow enough rice to eat like other families in the village.”

And now that their physical needs are being met, they can even begin to focus on other areas of well-being. Through parenting education from Holt Cambodia, they are growing to understand the importance of continued education for Sophal and Veha, and have learned about postive parenting and children’s rights. Collectively, overcoming poverty not only contributes to meeting physical needs, but also empowers parents to build stronger relationships with their children, become more stable, and to stay together.

With chickens, and because of chickens, they are thriving.