Interview with an animal group member

BIPA used the chance to talk to one of the farmers involved in several agriculture projects of BIPA.

F: «A long time ago I joined the training program of BIPA planting crops and to learn rubber technics. I learned about coffee and pepper.

I: What else are you engaged with BIPA?

F: «Another thing is that they find a market for us to sell the coffee.»

I: How about the market, do you have any problems to sell your crop?

F: «No I have no problems, I sold all my coffee products, the price last year was 1$ 75. per Kg.»

I: Is there any other organization who comes to train you beside of BIPA.

F: «No, nobody else then BIPA came to the farms.»

I: So in your age, would you have been able to manage with the new crops without technical support?

F: «No, I could not have grown them by myself. Without advice we have no knowledge to grow this. Whatever I grow the rubber, coffee I follow their advice. They also train us about to make compost fertilizer that we don’t have to by chemical from outside. They trained me how to grow until harvest and also, they trained me about how to harvest rubber sustainably and not to destroy the tree so quick, so that it lasts a long time to get harvest.»

I: Besides growing new crops, you are also engaged in the Community animal project how do you think about this?

F: «Yes, it is very good that BIPA is gathering people to keep the animals at a certain place. If BIPA could provide medicine to the farmers that would be also very good. »

I: BIPA can not provide medicine but training on how to care for the animals, help to find grazing grounds for each village and training of animal caretakers. Do you think that this is also useful for you and others?

F:«Yes, of course this is all very important for us who have animals. With today’s situation where there are plantations everywhere, we don’t have enough space to keep the animals. When this project supports more people who have the same problem to come together in a grazing ground this is very important. And the training about animal health care is also very important. »

I: What else do they teach you about animal health?

F: They also teach us about how to give injections. I ask Khleul Khluerl always how to do it and to get practice. He first asks me about the animal symptoms and then he gives me a prescription to buy the medicine and then he teaches me how to mix and to give the injection to the animal. I really want to learn this and to become an animal caretaker “nurse” and to do everything by myself but because I can not read and write I need the prescription of him so that they see in the shop what I need.»

I: When did you join the animal group programm of BIPA?

F: «It is about 4 – 5 months since I follow this program.»

I: Can you already say something about it?

F: «The program is good especially from June to December when people grow their crop. After the harvest in December/January people have more space on their farms to keep the animals. Then the groups of animals to be cared for are smaller. Two months before this grazing ground was full of cows. »

I: How it is now?

F: «It is very good but we have some problems when people in the group don’t follow the schedule to care for the animals. They never have time to do it and I who have time do this all the time.»

I: So until now BIPA formed animal groups with 3 villages. Do you think it is necessary to do this in other villages too?

F: «Yes, they should do that. But at the beginning the families are worried to bring together the cows and buffalos because they are concerned that when they bring animals from various places that they could fight. This also what I used to be worried about but when I put the animals together, they get to know each other very fast and they become friends very fast. We succeeded and they should try it too.»

I: How many animals are in your group?

F: «About more than 200 animals. »

I: To how many families they belong ?

F: «A lot. One family has at least 2 animals and max. 5. I think it is very important to have gatherings with the animal groups and we must improve the schedule in our group to get everyone involved and fair. »

I: Do you think you would have had this idea without BIPA ? Do you think it is important to have support to continue as a group?

F: «Before we didn’t thought to form a group like this but now it is actually important for us to stay and work in a group even for those who have few or a lot of animals and to improve our schedule so that the ones who have only one animal take care just one day two weeks and the ones with 10 animals take care about 3 days a week. For that it is also good that we can have the training program from BIPA. »

I: Do you have a training place for the group or how do you do that in the moment?

F : When it is not raining we meet at the grazing ground under the trees or when it rains we meet in my farm and in the future we want to build a hut at the grazing ground , maybe next year. If we have a hut there the 2-5 of us who are caring about 200 animals could then meet, cook, and eat together there.

I : Some parts of the graising ground belongs to people who grow their peddy rice. Is that a problem ?

F : Yes, the families normaly makes a fence around their field and if there are a lot of them this would be a problem to have the cows there. But now is good because the families did not make it.