MBM Cow Pens 2007 Indonesia

Details:

Maha Bhoga Marga (MBM) estimates that since the Bali bombing in October 2002, income levels of Balinese farmers has decreased by up to 60%. In an attempt to address this decline, MBM conducted a successful pilot project in 2003/04 which enabled targeted farmers to generate a supplementary income from cattle fattening. CowFund is supporting a follow-up to this project, involving 65 farmers selected and trained to:

• Build cattle pens for 130 cows.
• Purchase, feed and care for their penned cattle in small groups of five.
• Fatten and sell cattle on the Java meat market for maximum financial return.
• Make and use organic fertiliser, with cow manure as the main component.

As each cow is sold, farmers generate some supplementary income and apply a proportion of this to purchasing a new cow. Eventually farmers reach the point where they no longer need a loan to purchase and feed their cattle, at which point they exit the program and another farmer enters.

CowFunder Fiona Higgins visited MBM in February 2007. Read her report here.