Treatment, Training and Improvement of Livestock
Description of sheep flock component
The
project will give training to all members of the community in the proper
care and improvement of the 1000 sheep owned by its members. These animals
are a source of food and wool, however there is no system in place to
administer them, consequently the quality of the meat and wool is bad.
An indigenous Quichua speaking zoologist, Jorge Paca, will be contracted
part-time for two years to direct the implementation of the program
for preventive treatment and improvement of the sheep. The technical
and educational visits will be twice monthly during this period. The
training program is meant to develop the capacity of the community and
its members to survive and prosper in their own culture by improved
subsistence farms, preservation of soil and plant environments.
The
training sessions have a both practical and theoretical character and
are directed at all the families. Prevention topics dealing with the
de-worming of the animals, the introduction of salts, minerals and vitamins
in the diets will be covered. Material about animal health on how to
avoid sicknesses and how to initiate a health calendar and maintain
improvement control registers will also be dealt with. Complementary
to the training, better bred rams will be purchased and existing pastures
will be improved resulting in a notable improvement in the quality of
meat and wool so that the community can supply its own needs, with the
excess being sold in the market. The training activities, preventive
work and efforts to improve handling of the sheep will be carried out
in the first year of the project, without increasing the number of sheep.
Once concluded the longer term land use plan with the respective component
for the community's handling and production of sheep, a decision will
be taken as to the carrying capacity of the land and what number of
sheep can be maintained and in what areas without doing damage to the
environment.
In the discussion and planning sessions leading to the elaboration of this proposal the community strongly emphasized that all the members of the Association must benefit equally from the project. There exist numerous failures among indigenous communities due to project resources being received only by a few people. For this reason the members asked that the project consider the purchase of one ram for each family with the espective obligation to take part in the training.
The money received for this part of the project will be administered through the community bank. Each family will have the right to make a loan for the purchase of a ram, medicines, salts, vitamins and seeds for their pastures. To receive the loan they are obliged to participate actively in the training workshops and to strictly follow the zoologist's instructions for the care, prevention and improvement of the sheep.
INTRODUCTION OF ALPACAS
The
community had no interest in introducing native animals to their lands
because while they were familiar with the handling of sheep they had no
experience with llama, alpaca o vicuna. Before they were eliminated to
the point of extinction by hunters these were the animals native to the
area. Sheep are limited to the lower areas of pasture which the
community has while the llama and alpaca are able to feed and roam on
the paramo without damaging it.
In the last 15 years through an Andean program with the co-operation of Peru and Bolivia the native animals have been successfully re-introduced into a number of indigenous communities in Chimborazo. The animal has a wool that fetches a better price, is a source of meat and is useful for transporting products. Consequently the members of the Association express an interest to experiment with a small flock of llama and alpaca in order to acquire experience in their respective handling.
ALPACA : Characteristics of the Animals:
Fifty-two animals will be acquired between the ages of 12 and 18 months. Of these, 4 will be male. With these animals two caravans will be created of 26 alpacas, each community handling one. Each community in turn will then create 2 sub groups in order to have a proper productive and reproductive handling of the alpacas. Two observation visits have been made in preparing this project to the University's alpaca farm for introductory lectures and for hands on experience in shearing the animals. The communities are contributing the pastureland and shepherding.
Monitoring the Change from Sheep to Alpaca:
With the help and technical assistance of the Ministry of Environment the change from sheep to alpaca ranching will be gradual. In 1992 the ministry re-introduced vicuña to the highest parts of the paramo in the reserve so there is a successful antecedent to this initiative. 100 vicuña were received from Chile, 100 from Peru and 77 from Bolivia. Today this original lot of 277 number 850. The ministry has trained officials to support community efforts.
Food:
The groups of animals (called caravans) will gradually replace the sheep in occupying the native pasturelands. Each one of the subgroups will occupy 50 hectares of fenced land, as a way of rationalising the pastureland. The animal's diet will be complemented with salts, minerals, water and leftovers from the traditional harvests established in the communities. Eventually the animals will receive improved feeding based on crops grown in the lower communal lands.
Reproductive Handling:
Each
sub-group constitutes an independent reproductive family, characterised
by the presence of a male alpaca. Recently born animals will receive the
necessary technical care, thus avoiding infections and problems related
to high mortality.
At one month the animals will be identified with tattoos and plastic ear rings. The male offspring not selected will be castrated and the females will be subject to a first reproductive selection. At six months the young will be taken from their mothers and the second reproductive selection will be made. Only those selected female will be used to increase the reproductive flock while the rest will be offered for sale first to the members of the two participating communities or secondly to neighbouring communities .
Sanitary Control:
For sanitary purposes small corrals for each sub-group have been constructed and this same construction will serve for the productive handling of the animals. This is necessary for control of internal & external parasites, periodic vitamins and eventual control of infections.
Productive Handling:
The production is based on obtaining wool and the sale of offspring. Shearing is done once a year in the dry season. The wool obtained will be classified and sold to the women's weavers' co-operatives in each community to be made into alpaca thread and then processed. This process will coincide with the selling of the offspring. Alpaca wool fetches up to seven times the amount paid for sheep's wool. The animals are an attraction for tourists as they can be observed in their native habitat.
Production of Cuys
From the first planning meeting with the Association, the women present energetically insisted that one of the project components be for raising cuys, a Andean of the guinea pig. This proposal responds to the needs and demands of the women to undertake concrete productive activities, as a way of improving the difficult family economic situation. As it is the woman who looks after the small animals this activity is being promoted, which in turn will contribute to her self estimation and to her family's economy. Cuys have the advantage of taking little space, convert feed easily and are raised for their meat. A simple housing structure for the cuys will be built.
The project will be financed by small loans from the community bank in order that all the women of the Association can participate in the project which will be administered jointly under the technical direction and assistance of the zoologist and sociologist.
InterConnection
