The Hope School Chicken Farm
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the
Lord, and he will repay him for his deed."
Proverbs 19:17
One of the most vital sources of income for the school has been the chicken farm. Chickens are kept in facilities on the school grounds, and the eggs are used to feed the students and sold to the local community. At one point, the school chicken farm accounted for 20% of the total school income. The school has four large chicken houses with a capacity of 7,500 egg-laying hens. This project provided a dependable and regular income especially after a financial crises that left the farm without any chickens. Now we currently have 2000 hens.
As of fall 2019, we are rethinking the chicken farm, as it is becoming less of a sustainable source of income compared to what it used to be. With teacher salaries rising and egg market prices fluctuating, this project is only proving a sliver of our income, and is thus becoming more of a burden to keep it going.
Until we begin another project to create a source of sustainable income, we will continue to sell to stores and families in Beit Jala.
