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PRT, local gov't and NGO work together to bring jobs to Panjshiri women

  • Published
  • By Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs Office
  • Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs Office
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan --  More than 30 families are benefiting from a women's poultry training program that has just started in Tawakh village, Anaba District. A team made up of members of MARWA, an Afghan non-governmental organization, the Department of Women's Affairs, and the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team visited the village Sept. 15 to view the progress.
The women in Tawakh are one and a half months through a three-month training program that teaches them everything from how to build the coops and make the chicken feed, to selecting eggs and providing vaccinations.

"The women here in Tawakh aren't finished with their academic training yet, but they have shown they are taking the course and the program very seriously," said Brishna Yaftali, MARWA Director.

Ms. Yaftali asked the 25 women, who were crammed into a room in a local woman's house, what they had learned and one stated that she had memorized how to make the chicken feed. Ms. Yaftali quickly challenged the woman to recite the recipe - and she did.

All of the women were also charged as a part of this program to build their own chicken coops. Each family must build their own and the women and children of the village have met the challenge.

"We walked to at least five different homes throughout the village and the women were excited and proud to be able to show us their chicken coops. When we entered each yard, the woman of the house made sure to let us know that she had built her own chicken coop by hand," said Air Force Capt. Jillian Torango, Panjshir PRT Woman's Affairs Liaison. "It wasn't just the women of the village but the little girls too. I met one little 9-year-old girl who was covered in mud because she was helping to build her family's coop."

Once the coops are complete the women will each receive two roosters and 13 hens, along with enough feed to last the first month or so.

"MARWA will provide a one month supply of chicken feed to help the women get started, but then they must purchase or make the feed themselves from the small profits they will make from selling their eggs," said Ms. Yaftali.

The cost of eggs has nearly doubled in the last two months from about 12 cents to 20 cents each; and this poses both a pro and a con for the women who will raise their chickens for eggs.

"In the other Panjshir villages where we have done these trainings, the women have been sending their eggs to a supermarket in Kabul to sell them there," said Ms. Yaftali. "Now, the women are able to use or sell all of their eggs locally and they don't need to have them shipped to Kabul for sale."

According to Captain Torango, this means the program has shown itself to be a success.

"If the women in those other villages have taken the initiative to sell the eggs themselves without using MARWA to transport the eggs to Kabul, then they have shown they are self-sufficient and are fully able to help support their families and local economies," she said. "That's exactly what we hope the women of Tawakh village will someday be able to do."

Ms. Yaftali stated that her organization, MARWA, has trained more than 850 women in Panjshir Province to raise chickens but she hopes that the capacity built by these training programs reaches much farther.

"We have physically taught more than 850 women to raise chickens here, but our overall hope is that these women will be able to train their neighbors how to raise them as well," Ms. Yaftali stated. "If we can do that then this knowledge will reach thousands of women throughout the country."

The Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team's U.S. Department of Agriculture representative and Civil Affairs teams have been crucial for getting these types of programs started within Panjshir.

"This project highlights the cooperative effort within the PRT. USDA developed this project in conjunction with Civil Affairs team," said Army Maj. Nicholas Dickson, Panjshir PRT Deputy Commander and Civil Affairs Team leader. "Then the Women's Affairs team works directly with the students (women), the implementing partner, and the Provincial Government. As you can see, the benefits are immediate and tangible down to the family level."