Goat Hope Dairy Construction UPDATE
The construction of the dairy as you can see from the pictures is progressing –albeit, slightly slower than anticipated due to post election setbacks. We are making some progress now and working on a March 2018 completion. Stay tuned! Contrsuction of Dairy Farm Contrsuction of Dairy Farm Contrsuction of Dairy Farm Contrsuction of Dairy Farm Contrsuction of Dairy Farm Contrsuction of Dairy...
Read MoreGoat Hope Dairy Construction
We are happy to share some more pictures of the construction of our Goat Hope Dairy, which is coming along beautifully. We have received amazing support from the community where members continue to volunteer their labor, resources e.g. providing pick-up trucks to transport construction material, and networks that have enabled us get discounted construction material. We are working hard to finish construction in the next few months. Goat Hope Dairy Goat Hope Dairy Goat Hope...
Read MoreOne Step Closer to Community-Owned Goat Hope Dairy Farm
Through a generous donation from the Stanley and Marion Bergman Family Charitable Fund we have started the construction of the dairy at our farm in Kirinyaga County in Kenya. We are so excited to share the pictures of the progress we have made to date. We are now fundraising for the roof, water tank, and installation of electricity. Your generous tax deductible donation toward the goal of $3,000 to bring this project to completion is highly appreciated. Please follow this link (https://mra-africa.org/donate/) to support the Goat Hope Dairy Farm construction. If you prefer to donate by mail, please make your check payable to “Medical Relief Alliance” and please send it to the following mailing address: Medical Relief Alliance 244 5th Avenue Suite B293, New York, NY 10001 Need More Information? Email:...
Read MoreCommunity-Owned Dairy to be Launch in 2017
After much success with our Social Venture Goat Farm we are proudly looking forward to launching our Community-Owned Dairy program. The purpose of the dairy will be to build a central milk collection point at the farm, for the families with goats to bring their milk and sell it to the farm. The farm will then sell the milk to already identified vendors for processing, packaging and distribution. Our Farmers make up almost 80% of the goat milk supply chain in Kirinyaga County, with each family producing an average of 2 liters per day. We need your support to successfully launch our Community-Owned Dairy. So far we have raised $25,000 to purchase a milk cooler and a pasteurizer. Your support towards the goal of $35,000 will enable us to: Construct the dairy plant – $20,000 Purchase a Refrigerated Truck- $10,000 Install a Generator- $5,000 Donations can be made by mailing checks addressed to: Medical Relief Alliance, Inc. 244 5th Avenue Suite B293, New York, NY 10001. All donations are tax deductible. Need More Information? Email:...
Read MoreA Visit from Our Newest Partners – Goat Hope Marquette
This August, MRA board members and our newest partners in the US, a Marquette University student organization known as Goat Hope at Marquette, visited our farm in Kirinyaga County, Kenya with the goal of assessing the impact we have made in the community through our Goat Hope Program which has been in operation in rural Kenya since 2002 as well as beginning the process of building a Community-Owned Dairy point at our Social Venture Goat Farm. Our visit started with a meeting at the farm where we met the women’s group leaders and listened as they gave their testimonies of how beneficial the goats have been to the families in the community. We also visited different family’s homes, who had received goats, and saw firsthand how the goats were helping the families. We heard from families that the consumption of the goat milk had really boosted their health and made them stronger. We heard that from the sales of milk, they had been able to buy required medication for the family, and others can afford to buy uniforms and books for school etc. We also heard that when the goat herds had increased, some families had sold the goats and were able to construct better housing for their families. The team visited with a community owned goat milk dairy in a neighboring county to learn from them how their dairy works. They explained and showed us the entire process from when the milk is collected from the families to the point it’s picked up by the processor. At this dairy, they told us they sell their milk to another goat farm outside of Nairobi, who use it to make goat yogurt. We also learned how yogurt is made. Our visit at the farm also involved refurbishing our Goat Hope offices and painting the current goat housing structure, giving it a new clean feel. The team also broke ground for a new housing structure that we will house the pregnant goats and their newborns. Another highlight of our trip was meeting with executives of a large supermarket chain in Nairobi to solidify our partnership to sell our goat milk/yogurt to them. This was a very successful meeting and are really looking forward to working with them to provide access to goat milk and value added products like yogurt and cheese. Our trip would not have been complete without meeting Dr. Mugo, one of the leading livestock veterinarian doctors in Kenya. We discussed ways we can improve the health and productivity of our goats to maximize milk production which will be crucial for our success. We forged a partnership that will continue for many years. We also organized a community event where over 130 goat hope community members and government officials attended and participated, as we shared our vision for the dairy with all the goat hope community. We shared with the families the exciting news that we had already received money to purchase a milk cooler and pasteurizer. It was a fun day filled with song and dance and even an impromptu children’s choir. Our trip ended on a high note. We came back to the US, energized to continue our fundraising efforts to successfully launch the Community-Owned Dairy in 2017. We need your support to successfully launch our Community-Owned Dairy. So far we have raised $25,000 to purchase a milk cooler and a pasteurizer. Your support towards the goal of $35,000 will enable us to: Construct the dairy plant – $20,000 Purchase a Refrigerated Truck- $10,000 Install a Generator- $5,000 Donations can be made by mailing checks addressed...
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