Rolling

Summary:

0. We start in Cameroon.
1. We are going to the pig business for the scholarship.
2. We are pairing a kid with a pig. The starting number depends on Jesse's interviews. The kid will be taking care of his/her pig.


ETA: January 2006. Funding is ready. Software to track funding performance will be worked on.


Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
dody i think they're $100-$200 but i'll give you more specific numbers tomorrow. i'm in yaounde for a few days so i'm connected.
dodyg (silverkey) says:
ok
dodyg (silverkey) says:
do you guys have western union?
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yes
dodyg (silverkey) says:
do you have an address?
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yes
dodyg (silverkey) says:
send me your address and local western union
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
ok
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
are you at work right now?
dodyg (silverkey) says:
yup
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
keep working... i'll give you some useful information tomorrow
dodyg (silverkey) says:
ok
dodyg (silverkey) says:
do you actually know some small farms
dodyg (silverkey) says:
that can make use of the cow/
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the people in my area farm pigs
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the terrain is too hilly for cows
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
also cows usually have to be herded into a big city to be sold
dodyg (silverkey) says:
hmm..let's invest in pigs then
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yes i was going to suggest
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
there is also catching on here the taming and eating of cane rats
dodyg (silverkey) says:
wtf?
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
but if you want to have a project that i can personally supervise, it's best that it's pigs
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yeah people eat wild cane rats
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
in fact they prefer them to pig or cow meat
dodyg (silverkey) says:
how much money can you make
dodyg (silverkey) says:
out domesticating cane rats
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
they sell for about five dollars apiece dead
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
so it's a small deal
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
but a child's school fees are fifty dollars a year
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
piglets are about thirty dollars each and a fatted pig earns about one hundred dollars when it is butchered
dodyg (silverkey) says:
how long does it take
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i think they mature in six months if they're kept in cages, ten months if allowed to roam
dodyg (silverkey) says:
damn, that's low margin
dodyg (silverkey) says:
10 bucks per month
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
right
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
but keep in mind that people aren't really involved in the cash economy as you imagine it
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
you can live without ever using money
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
and live well at that
dodyg (silverkey) says:
let's say we want to enroll 10 kids
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the reason people have to start using money is to send children to school
dodyg (silverkey) says:
to school from the profits
dodyg (silverkey) says:
how much etc
dodyg (silverkey) says:
do we have to generate
dodyg (silverkey) says:
from the farms
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
school fees for one year are a bit more than fifty dollars a child
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i would suggest that you give partial scholarships, like pay half
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i mean account for generating half
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
most already have an income from cocoa farming, but the money doesn't stretch too far, cocoa prices have been dropping
dodyg (silverkey) says:
is the pig market price stable?
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the cost of a kilo of pork meat hasn't changed for about a year in my village, so they have told me
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
but pigs can be sold in surrounding markets
dodyg (silverkey) says:
we can start both ways
dodyg (silverkey) says:
the pigs and the partial
dodyg (silverkey) says:
scholarships
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the price can vary depending on demand, how many funerals are pending
dodyg (silverkey) says:
and find a way on how to make it self funding afterwards
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
ok
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
well pig farming is already self sufficient in the village, so all of the groundwork is laid
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
everyone knows how to take care of a pig and there are always pregnant pigs
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
it would just be a matter of finding a serious child to take care of the pig
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the child getting scholarshipped would take care of the pig, i imagine
dodyg (silverkey) says:
hmm..that's a good idea
dodyg (silverkey) says:
one child one pig?
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i imagine. a family usually has more than one child, and they can build the stables to hold several pigs
dodyg (silverkey) says:
how much is a cost to a pig outside labour
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
it's just a matter of me investigating to make sure that there are families that would like to raise pigs but can't afford the initial investment
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
you can feed them grass and scraps
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
grass can be cut down for free
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
the expensive thing is the wood and bamboo used to construct their stable
dodyg (silverkey) says:
i imagines many kids will share the responbislity
dodyg (silverkey) says:
of a central
dodyg (silverkey) says:
stable
Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
well stables can't get too big because the pig shit becomes a health hazard if there are too many of them
dodyg (silverkey) says:
ok
dodyg (silverkey) says:
can you factor in the cost of stable
dodyg (silverkey) says:
etc
dodyg (silverkey) says:
so that there's a figure
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yeah
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
to be responsible i'll need to do a proper feasibility study
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
interview people to make sure they'll take the responsibility
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
check nearby market prices
dodyg (silverkey) says:
get the budget first
dodyg (silverkey) says:
so that i can work on the money side
dodyg (silverkey) says:
and ideally
dodyg (silverkey) says:
you will receive a certain amount of money
dodyg (silverkey) says:
before the interview goes on further
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
ok
dodyg (silverkey) says:
hmm..
dodyg (silverkey) says:
on the other hand
dodyg (silverkey) says:
we only need 2 kids
dodyg (silverkey) says:
or something
dodyg (silverkey) says:
to start
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
exactly
dodyg (silverkey) says:
a kid and his/her pig
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i'd like to find out how many kids are not attending school because of money
dodyg (silverkey) says:
yup
dodyg (silverkey) says:
a kid and a pig
dodyg (silverkey) says:
I can sell that
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yeah
dodyg (silverkey) says:
and we can put up their pictures
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
certainly
dodyg (silverkey) says:
ok; let me know
dodyg (silverkey) says:
the turn around from your budget to money transferred will be 2 days
dodyg (silverkey) says:
so whenever you are ready
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
that's incentive
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
i'll be away from the village until january 2nd
dodyg (silverkey) says:
yeah, this will be next yera
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yeah
dodyg (silverkey) says:
silverkey will be doing the start up funding
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
then from there i have to wait for the weekend to use internet in dschang
dodyg (silverkey) says:
and once it gets rolling
dodyg (silverkey) says:
i think there will be enough of young people
dodyg (silverkey) says:
attracted to the idea
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
yeah
爱新觉罗 Jesse: à Dschang, Cameroun says:
they'll be surprised about how things work in the village