Much more than a farm, a school of life...
In Verdun, at the educational farm of the NGO Safire, under the guidance of a manager, about thirty young people aged 12 to 16 work in two chicken coops that house laying hens. The children practice feeding the chickens, turning the bedding, collecting and cleaning eggs daily, all while respecting the animals. These are street children, left to fend for themselves and have been out of school for many years.
By coming to the farm every day, Safire attempts to protect them from society’s pitfalls in a place where they learn a trade that will allow them to earn a living if they choose to pursue this path. All 300 eggs collected daily are sold to residents in the surrounding areas, which brings great pride to the budding farmers. This also enables Safire to be self-sufficient.
The project began in 2015, led by Safire in collaboration with Avipro. Starting with 125 laying hens, the number increased to 320 by 2020. To accommodate them, a second henhouse was built by transforming an old goat pen. A store and an egg storage room were also set up. The Fondation Solidarité of Eclosia and Avipro invested more than Rs 1.3 million in this project.
“We wanted to become self-sufficient and no longer rely on CSR donations to run the organization. We’ve succeeded today. The children were trained as breeders by Avipro, who also involved its retirees, eager to pass on their knowledge. The young people who come here also benefit from educational supervision and guidance, all with the goal of reintegrating them into society,” explains Edley Maurer, the director of Safire.
Today, they want to go further. Ten of them will join the MITD to deepen their knowledge in poultry farming and earn a diploma at the end of their studies. For others, a new path is opening up, with the prospect of reviving a project that has been dormant for some time. This involves an agricultural farm on a plot of land adjacent to the Verdun educational farm. “We wish to continue supporting Safire in this agricultural project, always with the same ambition to train young people in a trade while promoting the autonomy of the NGO through our expertise,” emphasizes Caroline Avrillon, Sustainability Officer at Avipro.