Series of training and awareness programs are conducted for the community at Mayurbhanj, Orissa on backyard poultry and nutrition security. Cornerstones training, Back Yard Poultry (BYP) health management, nutrition and kitchen garden training, vaccination awareness campaign at village level, training on construction of model poultry house in every village were few among them. Poster and wall painting at village level sensitizing the importance of consumption and marketing of poultry birds are another attaempt to encourage the community. Hatching hope is the project initiated by DHAN Foundation in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa.
Awarness Campaign on Bird Flu
Mayurbhanj is one of the tribal-dominated districts in Orissa, which has been declared as the fully scheduled district of the State. With four sub-divisions, Baripada and Kaptipada are the part of the plain areas and Bamanghati and Panchapirha are the hilly tribal-dominated regions of the district. Out of 26 Blocks, the tribals are more concentrated in Udala, Khunta, Bijatala, Jamda, and Baripada Blocks where the tribal population varies from 70% to 80% of the total population. Overall, the tribals constitute 56.8% of the total population of the district (Census 2011).
In the villages of the Mayurbhanj district, every household is having poultry birds. Rearing and maintenance of these back yard poultry are very simple and easy. Neither separate structures nor special investments are needed for rearing as they practice traditional methods of rearing. During the night, you can see birds in the kitchens, in bedrooms, and during the day time, the birds will be outside.
Wall Painting on Nutrition
Disease spread among the birds, taking longer time for bird growth, bird’s energy is unproductively spent for scavenging, and high mortality rate of the birds are the major problems occurring due to the traditional methods of the rearings Yet these problems weren’t seen as problems by the farmers since they never considered the Back Yard Poultry as a source of income, as a livelihood activity. Hence there is no business plan, no marketing strategy and no measures on the production enhancement.
Households level Health Card on BYP
Hatching Hope Initiative project was initiated in October 2018 by the funding partner Heifer International and Cargill. DHAN Foundation has taken up this project in January 2019 and implemented in two blocks of Mayurbhanj – Betnoti and Badasahi – with an aim to improve nutrition through Back Yard Poultry (BYP) Production and consumption across 65,000 households in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. This goal will be achieved by improving livelihoods through poultry production and also increasing awareness of poultry production and consumption.
BYP Business Plan Training at SHG Level
Besides traning and awareness programmes, poster and wall painting at village level is done to sensitize the importance of consumption and marketing. Community Hatchery and feed mill on Back Yard Poultry are also promoted in villages.
The journey so far,
| Sl No | Activities | Reach as on February 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cornerstones Training | 374 Groups |
| 2 | Training on back yard poultry health management and human nutrition | 313 Groups |
| 3 | Participatory Self Review and Planning (PSRP) | 374 Groups |
| 4 | Vaccination and De-worming Awareness Campaign / Bird Flue Campaign | 173 Villages |
| 5 | Nutrition Training | 62 Groups |
| 5 | Wall Painting | 57 Painting |
| 6 | Poster | 173 Villages |
| 7 | Model Poultry House | 57 Unit Plan to do 222 Unit |
