“I had a hard life,” says Longomasy, a widow and mother of four living in Belafika, a village in southwestern Madagascar.
Before the arrival of the ASOTRY project, Longomasy lived in misery. “To feed my children, I collected firewood in the hills to sell at the market. I earned between 1,000 and 2,000 MGA. Other than that, I did small chores like laundry, or fetching water. It was not enough to feed my children,” she says.
When ASOTRY project arrived in Belafika, Longomasy joined a Village Savings and Loans (VSL) Association because she wanted to change her life. “I spent all the money I could save for the purchase of two goats,” she says.
She then became member of a Farmer Field School (FFS) set up by ASOTRY to promote agriculture and livestock. The project gave her another goat as one of the strategies of the FFS is to provide goats to the members, provided that they already have one.
Thanks to the techniques taught in the FFS groups, Longomasy goat farming has thrived. “In the FFS, I learned how to raise goats. The technicians showed us how to build the stable and how to feed them,” she explained.
Soon, the herd expanded to 36 goats! As she has always wanted to give a better dwelling to her children, she sold 5 of them and invested the money in a new house. “We have always lived in a small straw house. Thanks to ASOTRY, I was able to build a stronger, more comfortable home. With the profits from the goat, I also had the opportunity to start a small shop in front of the house,” she says.
Longomasy sees the nutrition and health of his family improving day by day. “When I did not have a source of income, we shared a few pieces of cassava for lunch. It was always like that every day because cassava was the cheapest food in the market. Today thanks to my small business, I can vary our food and we are in better health.”
As Longomasy’s goat farming is thriving, she has integrated a Livestock Marketing Group, where she has better opportunity to sell her goats. “I already have other small projects in mind. I will soon sell half of my goats to Toliara. And with the profits, I’m going to raise chickens; I also plan to invest in rice business. Meanwhile, I’ll keep the other half to always grow the herd, “says Longomasy.
Today, Longomasy can provide education to all of her children. She dreams that someday they will become doctors or mayors of the Commune. “As a widow, and illiterate, I had lost hope. Fortunately, ASOTRY has come. Now I can take care of my children, and I am sure that our life will always improve. I thank ASOTRY and the American people who thought of us even though we live in this desert,” she says.