{"id":22329,"date":"2022-06-14T15:16:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T15:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/retired-teacher-runs-thriving-poultry-farm"},"modified":"2022-06-14T15:16:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T15:16:47","slug":"retired-teacher-runs-thriving-poultry-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/retired-teacher-runs-thriving-poultry-farm","title":{"rendered":"Retired teacher runs thriving poultry farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>THEOPOLINA Shatilwe (67) from Endola village in the Ohangwena region ventured into poultry farming after retiring from teaching at Ndilokelwa Primary School at Endola.<\/b><\/p>\n

Shatilwe, who retired in 2015, says she started a poultry project called the Pevat project at her homestead at the village with eight egg-laying chickens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI farm four chicken species: indigenous chicken, broilers, Boschveld and Lohman brown chickens. I breed both dual-purpose chickens and egg-laying chickens,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe also sells chicks, which she hatches with machinery she has procured herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw my chickens were becoming a lot, I started loving them and decided to start breeding them. I grew up to 1 000 chickens every month,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says she ordered her broiler chickens from South Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not easy at first, because I have been struggling due to a lack of poultry farming experience. I started attending workshops, and I got a mentor in the region \u2013 Tauno Shikomba,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe says people in the region started buying her chickens, upon which she decided to expand her farm and to start selling eggs as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have created WhatsApp groups on which I post my chickens, chicks and eggs. I have a lot of buyers, and currently I sell to people for events like school bazaars and weddings,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says chicken feed is becoming expensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have realised those feeds are not sufficient, and now I mix them with sunflower seeds I grow myself, melon seeds, maize seeds, pearl millet and sorghum seeds. I give my chickens these feeds when they’re six weeks old,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe says pearl millet seems to slow chikens’ growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried looking for assistance from the government, but was rejected due to my age. But that didn’t make me give up. The feeds are expensive, and I decided to produce my own too,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The farmer says she is assisted by family and community members, and recruits students from her village.<\/p>\n

She says she pays them in cash, live chickens, chicks, or eggs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI now also mentor people who want to start poultry farming. I have trained 10 women from my community, and many of them are cruising nicely. Only a few have dumped the idea,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe says her biggest challenge was a lack of knowledge, high input costs, chicken medicine, and theft.<\/p>\n

Last year, she says 68 chickens were stolen from her, which has affected her business.<\/p>\n

\u201cCovid-19 has also hindered my business as there were no customers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe says to protect her chickens, she ensures the chicken house is clean and provides her chickens a balanced diet.<\/p>\n

She says she also vaccinates her chickens, gives them vitamins and supplements, and lots of clean water.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I started, I have not received a complaint from my clients. One thing I like is biosecurity. People who visit chickens bring them diseases, and that’s why I avoid them entering the chicken house,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Shatilwe encourages young people to start small projects in their areas and apply for support from the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government does not help those who are quiet, but those who are trying. Start with something small. I am open to assisting with mentorship to those who need it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. THEOPOLINA Shatilwe (67) from Endola village in the Ohangwena region ventured into poultry farming after retiring from teaching at Ndilokelwa Primary School at Endola. Shatilwe, who retired in 2015, says she started a poultry project called the Pevat project at her homestead at the village with eight egg-laying chickens. \u201cI farm four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":22328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8,16],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-22329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nRetired teacher runs thriving poultry farm - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/retired-teacher-runs-thriving-poultry-farm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Retired teacher runs thriving poultry farm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Namibia. THEOPOLINA Shatilwe (67) from Endola village in the Ohangwena region ventured into poultry farming after retiring from teaching at Ndilokelwa Primary School at Endola. 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