How breeding rabbits can strengthen women´s independence

In Colombia, APS supports a group of eleven women that have decided to form an association to jointly generate an income. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the independence of the women and the cooperation between them. Initially every woman contributed COP 25,000 (EUR 10.00). After having taken part in the workshop “culinary cooking” organized by APS, the group started to invest this initial capital of COP 275,000 (EUR 110) by producing and selling chorizos and fried chicken.

The idea is to invest this income into a larger project. The women have discussed various possible projects and in the end decidedFoto 19.09.14 10 04 03 (1) between the options of opening a bakery or starting a business with rabbits. The group analyzed the two options and came to the conclusion that the breeding of rabbits can become a promising income source: Firstly, reproduction is comparably quick and easy. On average, one female rabbit can have at least 56 offsprings per year. As rabbits grow quickly, 49 of these are ready for sell within the same year, providing on average 50 kg of meat per year. At a market price of COP 5.000/kg this provides an income of COP 250,000/year (EUR 100,00) – only with one mother rabbit. Secondly, the herbs the rabbits consume grow in the region, diminishing the costs for food considerably. Thus, breeding rabbits is very rentable. In addition, in the region where the women live, there is a high demand for rabbits and little producers. Thus, the market is guaranteed.

Therefore, APS organized a one-day workshop at a rabbit’s farm where the group learned first-hand and veconstrucción mujeres-Conejos (1)ry practical what needs to be taken into consideration when breeding and taking care of rabbits. The workshop included topics such as alimentation, provision and care of the infrastructure, breeding as well as diagnostic and treatment of basic diseases.

By now, the women have cleared the space and started to build the structure for the hutches. This week, APS will provide the hutches and once they are prepared, APS will support the group with the first 16 rabbits. The women say that once the rabbits arrive, they will distribute the work by working in ¨shifts´ and teams of two. Every week, two other women will be responsible for taking care of the rabbits.

 Katharina

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