Fresh, Free-Range Eggs!
Hello from Kujali’s Field Team in Dar es Salaam!
It is with great pleasure that I get to announce the launch of HOCET Enterprises’s “HOCET Mayai” Business- a vital step toward helping HOCET Secondary School (HSS) achieve its ultimate goal of financial sustainability.
Steven Schaef, Kujali Board Member and brother of Founder Sydney Schaef, visiting Eric Sankay, a HSS Form 2 student who helps run the Poultry Farm
With the generous contribution of time, skills, labor, planning and funds from a volunteer group from Florida last year, led by Lee Gordon, HOCET was able to build a small-scale Poultry Farm on our Shamba (Swahili word for “farm”) at HSS. Last August, with a newly built coop and after successful test-run of raising and selling 500 Broiler Chickens, we decided to go big. We invested in 1,000 layer chickens, and laid the foundation for a long-term Mayai (Swahili word for “eggs”) Business.
Just a few weeks ago, we began to see the first tiny eggs appear in our coop. Typically, it takes the chickens 22-23 weeks to begin laying eggs, so we are right on track! I just checked in yesterday with Chotta, HOCET’s Business Development Manager, and he confirmed that we’re producing at least 300 eggs per day- not quite “full” capacity of around 650 or so, but the numbers are increasing by the day.
Kujali Founder, Sydney Schaef, with her brother Steven, visiting the Poultry Farm at HSS
So, who’s buying HOCET’s eggs (aside from the Kujali team!)? For as many chickens and poultry farms as there are in Tanzania, it seems that there is always a large demand for eggs. Perhaps it’s because many would consider one of the “staple” foods around here is “Chipsi Mayai”- a delicious street cuisine of eggs mixed with thick greasy french fries. We’ve connected with several Chipsi Mayai vendors nearby the HOCET office in Dar, and they are more than happy to buy our eggs at any time.
As we begin expanding production, however, our customer base will certainly grow. HOCET Mayai is a very unique “Social Business” here in Dar, and we are working on finding larger customers – such as corporate partners – that will be willing to pay a higher price (think of “cause marketing” models in the U.S) to buy eggs and support our work. The more, the better. We want to grow the HOCET family and build the local network as large as possible, and we feel that one of the most positive ways to do this is through our social impact businesses. Producing something of tangible value that we can sell and offer to the community is a powerful tool for supporting our mission, building our network, and showcasing the efforts of our students.
We will certainly keep you updated on our progress at the Poultry Farm, and with some of the new HOCET Enterprises that are currently in-the-making!
Onward,
Jon & The Kujali Field Team
