Building on the successful implementation of its educational chicken projects in four of St Andrew’s Parish schools, REACH Grenada is continuing its support by generously funding a second year’s supply of 325 broiler chicks, 20 bags of starter feed, 60 bags of finisher feed and 5 packets of antibiotics to keep the chicks healthy!

REACH Grenada’s strong commitment to working in close partnership with the schools in St Andrew’s Parish, using their existing infrastructure, to deliver the best results has helped produce a successful enterprise with students and educators reaping the benefits of REACH Grenada’s generous contribution. REACH Grenada’s aim, that the chicken project would be a self sustaining, ongoing scheme for schools that could also enhance the quality of their students’ learning experience is being realised and fulfilled in schools throughout St Andrew’s Parish.

Linked with the Grenadian Government School Feeding Program, the REACH Grenada chicken project provides ‘real’ learning opportunities for students by supporting schools’ mini business enterprise, i.e. breeding and selling chickens. Some schools, such as Belair Government School who have run successful chicken projects are using their experience and knowledge to embark on projects involving different poultry: “We have decided to use some of the profit to try some turkeys and the manure from the pens is used in the school gardens.”

Schools have been extremely successful, demonstrating good business acumen in supporting the Government’s School Feeding Programme and putting some of their profit back into the chicken project. In addition, some schools have used some of their profits to purchase valuable school resources; a fine example of this is St Michael’s RC School: “The students show great interest in the poultry project and the profit has contributed towards the funding of a much needed school photocopier.”

REACH Grenada has seen that the chicken project helps to offer a promising start to learning agricultural practice and is helping children to see firsthand that farming can be very satisfying, yielding tangible results based on good practice. It is also teaching the children that productive farming is for the community and not merely the individual.