Thriving goat project at Sankonjana

IT took the combination of technical support from a non-governmental Organisation (NGO) and indigenous knowledge to transform the fortunes of Meli Nyathi through his goat rearing project. Today he boasts of an admirable flock of 115 healthy goats. Nyathi is not alone in this innovative venture; he is but a case study of how well thought out intervention strategies may have telling and positive effects on rural communities for whom there are limited opportunities.

Before 2009 Nyathi, who hails from Ward 1, also known as Silebuho Ward, at the extreme end of Matobo District used to have a small pitiable flock of goats of not more than 20 animals.

It took Khula Sizwe Trust to turn around the fortunes of Nyathi and other villagers in Ward 1. Selibuho Ward is characterised by limited pastures due to low and sporadic rainfall.

The area has been inhabited by the Babirwa people whose livestock traditions were compliant with the dry conditions that extend into north-eastern Botswana and north-western South Africa in the Limpopo Province.

The Babirwa people arrived in south-western Zimbabwe in the first quarter of the 19th Century and were given land by the Rozvi Mambo. Khula Sizwe Trust moved into Sankonjana Village, named after some small Euphorbia tree, mukonjana, and initially took a group of seven people, three men and four women for training.

The Trust had accurately identified the problem with regard to livestock rearing. It is said the problem of limited pastures was aggravated by the presence of jackals that prey on goats and sheep in particular.

Jackals are a particular menace where there is a shortage of small wild animals such as rabbits, duikers, spring hares and Steen bucks. Apparently, Sankonjana Village does not have these animals and in their absence jackals are turning to available equivalents – livestock. The jackals are wreaking havoc accounting for no less than 60 percent of animal losses.

In addition, diseases among the goats were taking their toll. In winter, goat feed was scarce and calving rates were low. The selected villagers were trained in combating common diseases afflicting goats. The trainees were taught about identification and treatment of prevalent diseases.

The technical package that they received included inoculation of goats against known diseases. Further, they were advised to construct proper housing for goats. In the past, goat pens were characterised by watery dung smudge which caused wounds to goats' feet.

"As you can see, now I've this building made from plastered bricks and a mono-pitch asbestos roof. It's dry inside the pen. ''One should look at what goats do when it starts raining-they scamper for cover in a protected area. We get the cue from that," says Nyathi with a broad smile of satisfaction as he looks at the kids penned within the robust building.

However, the pen no longer has capacity to house the large flock that he now owns. In order to take care of limited pastures in winter, the group was taught how to supplement the limited pastures such as growing of Barna grass. They were encouraged to collect stover from sorghum and maize stalks to feed their animals.

These, they were advised, were to be collected while still green so as to have higher nutritional value. Peanut plants were also harvested and stored while green. Heat from the sun diminishes the food content in the plant stalks.

There was marked improvement following these interventions by Khula Sizwe Trust, albeit only to a certain point. The jackals were having a feast of fat and healthy goats.

There was need to complement the efforts of Khula Sizwe Trust. Surviving Babirwa livestock traditions were revisited and indeed, what followed thereafter, were success stories.

The success story was a result of the combination of the technical package from Khula Sizwe Trust and revitalising some Babirwa ways of dealing with the jackal menace.

While doing some field research in Botswana on the history of the Babirwa people a few years ago I came across the practice crafted to deal with menacing jackals.

It was at Lentswi le Morete near the confluence of the Limpopo and Motloutse rivers where I picked up the tradition which Nyathi, himself a Mmerwa, applied with commendable results.

The Babirwa used to have shepherd dogs that looked after their goats in the veld, sleeping with them in the goat pen and accompanying them to the pastures. Whenever jackals tried to get at the goats the shepherd dogs, mtsa modisi, attacked them. When we got to Nyathi's goat pen we saw two puppies and 21 goat kids.

The two puppies seemed at home with the kids. We wondered how the bond between the two disparate animals was sealed. Meanwhile, the older dogs were out with the adult goats-keeping guard over them in the true sense of shepherds.

"At a tender age the puppies are taken into the goat pen where they grow up with the goat kids. Remember, goat kids at this tender age produce yellow milky excreta. ''Puppies eat these and that seems to build strong bonds between the goat kids and puppies," explains Nyathi as he points at the sleeping puppies and goat kids.

"Food for the puppies is brought into the goat pen. The puppies only get out of the pen in the company of their friends – the goat kids. In fact, the puppies soon begin to see themselves as part and parcel of the flock," chuckles Nyathi.

We had the opportunity to see the goat kids get out of the goat pen to the pastures for browsing. The two puppies went along with the goat kids. They seemed protective of the goat kids as they separated and seemed to rein in the browsing goat kids. The adult goats and dogs were already out in the pastures.

The goats and their kids are not only healthy and well fed but also secure from the menacing jackals that roam the forests at Sankonjana. More families have also adopted the old Babirwa tradition of shepherd dogs.

Khula Sizwe Trust is assisting villagers with the marketing of the goats. They used to bring a buyer from Bulawayo while local goat producers took their goats to the business centre.

On average each goat fetched $50. Individuals and butchers from Sun Yet Sen are also buying the goats. Local incomes have improved appreciably. Project members are able to buy food for their families and pay school fees for their children. All the participants have to do is to build similar goat housing facilities using earned profits for other people joining the scheme.

This is indeed a success story involving the combination of modern technical support from Khula Sizwe Trust buttressed by innovative indigenous livestock traditions of the Babirwa.