Project Coordinator: Anita Lococo
Outline of the Project:
Nusa Penida is an extremely impoverished island southeast of Bali. Water is scarce and very little can grow, making a living there is extremely limited.
This project was planned and initiated together with the ‘Friends of National Parks Foundation’ (FNPF). Drh. I Gede Nyoman Bayu Wirayudha, Director of FNPF, uses his veterinarian expertise to advise Nusa Penida farmers upon animal husbandry and he oversees their goat-breeding program.
Farmers are each given a male and female goat and in return they are expected to pay back the ‘cost’ within three years through the sale of an offspring.
The sale of one adult goat can raise enough money to pay for the education of one child in a family.
A donation of as little as US$ 50.00 will go towards the purchasing of one goat for a poor family. This will help the family get started in the goat farming program and it will inevitably lead to a better quality of life for that family.
Recent Project activity:
In July 2013, 50 goats were purchased in Karangasam and transported to Nusa Penida by boat. Unfortunately, one goat died en route due to the stress of the trip. After arrival in Nusa Penida, six further goats died due to illness and attacks by wild dogs. 43 goats remain and they are now living in good, secure conditions. Four ‘kids’ have been born to date and currently five female goats are pregnant.
The farmers have taken to the project well and are happy raising their goats.
Members of the RCBS visited Nusa Penida in August and again in December 2013 to inspect the project’s progress. The overall opinion after the visits was that the project is a success and as a result the RCBS Board is planning to:
(i) replace the seven dead goats. In this regard, the Board has asked ‘FNPF’ to purchase these goats.
(ii) purchase 20 more goats for another village in Nusa Penida.
The Board is presently studying the cost and means of funding this proposal before it makes a final decision. In this regard, it has been noted that the price of goats has gone up significantly since July 2013.
On review in 2015/2016, it was decided to move the goats to an area controlled by the Friends of the National Park Foundation (FNPF) where the goats are carefully monitored.