Proyecto Kalila was set into motion in January 2007. The project was modeled off of that of Heifer International. In order to be eligible for the program, individuals who agree to contract terms will be given the nails and hinges to build a sturdy coop. In order to ensure buy in, they must provide their own wood (which they can harvest from the forest at no cost), as well as the manual labor to build the coop to specifications. Once the coop is built and inspected, they receive 5 laying hens and 1 virile rooster, as well as 35 lbs of corn to start. Within one year, they are then expected to care for their chickens carefully so as to be able to gift 6 chickens on to another family enrolled in the program, as well as an additional 3 hens to help pay for nails and other building supplies to help build subsequent coops.

Initial efforts have involved:
• Establishing a reliable local contact
• Building a chicken coop owned and run by Partners in Health (to act as a multiplier flock to produce lots of chickens for the program)
• Giving lectures about chicken care
• Providing vaccines and de-wormers for the duration of one year.
• Writing contracts and tables for use in monitoring program progress

After the first year, local farmers will be expected to sell chickens as necessary to provide for their medical needs, or they may gift additional chickens in exchange for veterinary supplies. Ongoing efforts will hopefully include additional veterinary guidance to improve flock viability and production levels, ongoing education, and the cultivation of pigeon peas, which can be used to vastly increase chicken productivity by boosting protein levels in chicken feed. Flocks will be given first to the health volunteer in each community as a way of rewarding their efforts and also promoting project visibility. The second family to receive a flock in each village will be a teacher in order to aid in dissemination of information to the community through the teaching of animal husbandry in the schools
For a full description of the project, as well as links to the charts being used to follow production, please see contract and chicken production chart. (These files are in Spanish, contact us if you would like translations).

Garth Cummings and Dr. Hanna Ekstrom are currently leading the project with the goal of having Proyecto Calila and the Dental Health Initiative running in all 10 villages in the RAAN by the summer of 2009. Initially, however, pilot flocks and dental programs have been established in Bilwaskarma and Klar to evaluate program efficacy.
Hopefully, if successful, efforts can be easily extended into other impoverished area of Nicaragua and beyond. This would mean that we were improving the dental, and thereby, health status of over 6000 children!

Protocols
Reproduction Plan

Disease Control Protocol