Egg has much usage as ingredient in cooking including cookies, cakes and fast food hence the demand for egg is high, members of Lala SHG were keen in rearing chicken in their houses.
Lala is a female SHG located in Qurbaqa Khana village of Sholgara district, 10 members of the group received poultry skills training from HiH Af and invested AFN 25,000 from their groups savings and started rearing 79 chickens in their houses for the first time.
They sell around 550 eggs weekly each at cost of AFN 7 in their neighborhood and the district shops, and their monthly income is around AFN 15,500. They have taken part in increasing their family income and this has indirectly improved their socio-economical life condition like providing better education facilities for their kids, having better meal, valued position in the family.
They say “from zero we have started making AFN15,500 a month and it is a big change in our lives and will work hard to make this a successful poultry unit in the future”.
Mrs. Gulsom; 47 years old Afghan lady is mother of 5 sons and 3 daughter. She is member of Khursheed female SHG established in Mahajer Qishlaq village of Sholgara district. She went through HiH Af skills training and saved 1,800 Afghanis. While she was a member of her group she learned how runn and managing an enterprise. Mahajir Qishlaq is a demanded area for female headed shop; hence HiH Af trainer assisted her to open a shop within her house for the village families.
She initiated her enterprise with an internal loan of AFN 5,000 and applied for EIF loan too, she was evaluated by EIF officers and was entitled for an EIF loan of AFN 5,000 to expand her enterprise as she is an active member of her group and had successfully experienced loan repayment through internal lending within the group. She also knows wool spinning and spins wool thread on wage while she is free of shop keeping. She spins one kilo of wool thread for AFN 40. Now she earns about AFN 5,000 per month.
“I didn’t know about saving before, so I wasn’t able to start my own business,” says Gulsom “I also didn’t know how to run and manage an enterprise, but I learned how to do both in my self-help group.”
Gulsom’s husband is old and cannot work therefore she is the head of her family. One of her sons works outdoor and the rest children go to school. She spends her income for the family livelihood and school stationary of their children.
She is very motivated and happy of her income generating activities and also saves money for expansion of her shop through.