A Fowl Problem with a Faithful Solution

[Warning:  this post talks about animal droppings!  Sorry if it offends!]

During the entrepreneurship training in Burundi last week, our DML leader from Cameroon divided the young adults into groups based on their residence and asked them to address the question, "What challenges is this community facing and how can we solve the problem?"  The underlying root of the question is the understanding that every social problem is a business opportunity.

One group said that their avocados all come ripe at the same time, and they don't have a market.  They decided to begin processing avocado oil for hair and body lotion and grinding the seeds for animal feed.

Another group said there was a lack of charcoal in their community for cooking.  They recognized a need for alternatives to charcoal for cooking, including recycling waste.

Another group said that everyone in their community harvests their maize at the same time, and they all sell at the lowest price because they don't have the means to store it well.  They learned that they could use the "Zimbabwe model" of boiling their maize and then drying it, and no pests would bother it.  They also discovered that the leaves of the neem tree, which is known as the King of Trees, can be dried and sprinkled among the bags of stored maize, as weevils (the common pest) hate neem.

And so on.  It was really great to hear their thoughts, and they had time throughout the week to discuss and plan together how they could organize themselves to address this.  

For me, as I couldn't listen to the individual group discussions in Kirundi, my mind immediately went to my community and the problem that I am facing:  goose poop.  Geese are everywhere.  And apparently, they poop every 12 minutes.  So, thirty geese in my yard, pooping every 12 minutes, means 360 poops per day.  You can't hardly walk without stepping on it.  I've tried everything to chase them away.  They keep coming back.  We aren't allowed to kill them (not that I could), but we are allowed to break their eggs to slow the population (but I can't do that either).  

So, what to do?  As the groups were pondering their challenge, I sat and pondered this.  We know that everything God created is good...so what is the good in this?  I was still stuck and didn't have an idea.

The next day, the agricultural speakers from Uganda trained the young adults on "chicken poop soup."  They shared that the white substance in chicken droppings is nitrogen, which is very good for growing crops.  They showed them how to make chicken poop soup.  

And suddenly the lightbulb went off for me.  Having avoided stepping on goose poop for years now, I am pretty familiar with how it looks...and there is a lot of white in fresh droppings...which means nitrogen!  I knew it was good for the grass, but what if I could harvest it, make goose poop soup, and help my own gardens grow...plus maybe some of my neighbors' gardens as well!  

As I shared from Philippians 4:9 on the last day of the conference, I shared my goose poop soup plan and told them that the next time they see me, they can call me the "Goose Poop Soup Lady." Philippians 4:9 tells us to put into action what we have learned.  It says:

“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things.  And the God of peace will be with you.”

During the week, we learned, received, heard, and saw how to do farming in a way that is restorative to creation and good for the farmer as well.  We learned to be innovative and problem solvers in our communities with our time, treasure, and talent.  And now it's time to put it into practice.  The verse encourages us to have the confidence to tell others to do what they see in us as followers of Christ, knowing that it will lead others closer to Christ as well.  It's scary to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ" because I know how often I fail!  But when we live out what we have learned, we should be able to increase in that confidence.  And most of how we teach and preach is by our actions, not our words.  So, how we work, how we treat God's beautiful creation, how we seek the flourishing of others over self, this is how we practice what we have learned.  

From teaching about God directly to finding a use for goose poop, and everything in between, our call to do our work as worship is holistic! May God help us view our challenges as opportunities to bring God-inspired solutions!

What can you do with $6.71?

What could you do with $6.71?  For many North Americans, it is not a lot of money and so it doesn't inspire a lot of imagination.  We easily spend that amount on a cup of coffee, without thinking twice.

However, in Burundi, the story is different.

I was blessed last week to have attended our second Youth Work as Worship conference in Burundi, attended by 400 youth.  We are halfway through a five-year study to assess the impact of workplace discipleship on young adults aged 18-35 in four different cities and twelve different churches.  Last year, after 1.5 years of teaching and training on entrepreneurship, we were already hearing exciting testimonies.  But this year's testimonies topped those.  

I couldn't capture all the testimonies, but the first three young adults shared a similar theme: how they used the equivalent of $6.71 to get their businesses started.  This was the amount of money that each youth was given at last year's conference to help them get from their homes to the bus pick-up point, and to cover their food for their travel.

The first woman, Janet, shared that before starting with DML, she believed students couldn't earn money - they just had to study.  But after the training, she learned differently.  She had been taught to differentiate between her needs, wants, and desires, and began to save some money (about $11) when she was given the $6.71 travel funds. While her peers were buying food and getting transport to their homes, she decided to keep that money and add it to her savings.  Now she had almost $17.  With that money, she bought a piglet.  She raised it and sold it for $117.  She purchased another piglet for $34 and diversified her business by investing in a rooster and a chicken.  Those two produced seven chicks, and in a few days, there should be six more. 

Janice tells a similar story.  She had been doing business but was taking loan after loan and not moving forward.  At last year's Youth Work as Worship conference, she was awarded a prize for "Best Business Idea" and received an award of $17.  Then she received the transport funds of $6.71, and now she had $23.51.  With that, she purchased flour, sugar, and charcoal in bulk and began selling them retail.  Eventually, she too bought a piglet, and that pig is now full-grown and about to give birth to piglets.  She no longer takes loans, saves regularly to invest in her business, and is thrilled to see that the culture is changing, allowing women to do business.

Lastly, Jessalyn used her transportation funds to buy bananas.  She turned that $6.71 into $67.  She bought a goat for $60, and it turned out to be pregnant.  She continued to sell and save and then purchased another goat, who also turned out to be pregnant!  So she soon she will have four goats.  She also has purchased a chicken and hopes to start enjoying eggs soon.  She is no longer dependent on her parents.  

These are just a few of the results of teaching over 2.5 years.  A successful Burundian businessman who started with nothing told them that they all have capital - their mind, their hands, their feet, and their health. 

This week, we spent an intensive time teaching them about conservation agriculture, including how to plant high-yield crops, how to reduce the cost of inputs by using natural products, how to make compost, and os much more.  They were taught how to raise rabbits.  They were taught the importance of saving, which serves as a refuge, and how to save even with a very small income.  They learned how to make perfume, how to problem-solve and innovate, and how to package. They heard inspirational testimonies from Burundian businessmen who had failed repeatedly in business until they finally succeeded, and they chanted, "Never give up!"  They were told that they could make a difference in their families, communities, churches, and country.  And they didn't have to leave Burundi to do so.

At the same time, leaders of four different denominations were present and they are ready to go full steam with this for all their local churches.  They have already been trained to be trainers and have a full-time person assigned to disseminate this message across Burundi.  And two of the pastors where the youth are attending told us that they have been able to build new church buildings because of the increase in tithes.  

God is good!  And when people change their mindset from poverty to potential, it is amazing!  We are deeply grateful to our partner in Burundi and their ability to convey this message with such passion and integrity.