One Year on: An Update
As we complete our first year with our flagship pilot Pig Farming Project in Limulunga, we have taken time out to review how far we have come.

The Successes:
We currently have eight pigs: one sow and seven males. We will sell the seven males and use another farmer’s male pig to impregnate our sow hoping for a litter of nine to 12 piglets.
If all goes well, we anticipate selling each fattened pig for £150.

What we have learnt so far:
- Travel to Zambia is limited and many of the areas are remote to access, which creates challenges for continuous assessment of our farming projects. For this reason, we are concentrating on micro pig farming as this project requires less frequent review.

- The project works well on a 12 month turn around period. At the end of 12 months we hope to sell the fattened pigs, keeping one or two sows from which to breed again. The current cycle began on 1 September 2012.

- Our initial investment was too small and did not sufficiently cover food, medical and equipment costs.

- We also needed a part-time pig herder.

Limulunga Pig Farming Project, Zambia  
Ukuthasa is proud to support a pig farming project. This project provides families with start-up costs over a one-year period with the aim of becoming self-sufficient thereafter. it develops a small-scale model that could be replicated and managed by two people. Partnering with pig farmer, Berry Nawa, our pilot project began in 2009 with four pigs: three sows and one boar. The current pig population stands at 8 pigs, 1 sow and 7 boars. The livestock are sold to cover costs and create wealth to feed families. Shelters for the pigs are built from branches, poles and wire. Pigs have very sensitive skin so they must be protected from the sun. This is especially important in the dry hot climate of Zambia. The pigs are fed on maize-bran and fish-meal to which salt is added. They receive regular medication to protect them from local pests the insect variety, not visitors.

Other items of expenditure include: a pump and water drums so that the pigs have access to plenty of clean water, large bath type basins in which the feed is mixed, a water sprayer so that everything can be kept as clean and germ-free as possible. Currently the project costs £800 per annum. All of these costs are covered by the Pig Sponsorship Scheme and just £40 will sponsor a pig (you could name them!).

As the farm grows and we learn more about successful sustainability, Berry will visit other local communities to assist them to establish their own pig farms. Click here if you would like to get involved.