Annie the Goat

The story of how a few goats can change an entire village.

Camp 6 certainly doesn’t sound like the name of a typical tribal village. The huts are spread acres apart, there is no water source nearby, the land is arid, and there are no crops to be found. It is one of the several camps where 424 tribal families ended up after being displaced by the Kolab hydroelectric dam. They once lived a bountiful life as they cultivated their land, surrounded by nature and animals. Uprooted from their homeland, the remote wasteland of the camps nowhere near lived up to the promises made by the government’s resettlement package.

With minimal prospects for agricultural work there, the villagers resorted to grueling day labor and borrowing money from exploitative landlords. When Annie Heslop first visited the camps with SOVA, the people were poverty-stricken, desperate, and broken. Soon after, Annie went goat shopping for Camp 6 and 4b. It happened to be Valentine’s Day, so Annie named the goats after goddesses of love. When she ran out of goddesses, she named her favorite goat, “Annie”. The tribal villagers laughed at the concept of naming a goat, but somehow the name “Annie” stuck. Annie (the goat) and 36 other goats soon had a new home with the 37 families of Camp 6, giving it its first opportunity at a sustainable income generation source.

Debbie Glasband, VSO volunteer, visited Camp 6 during her placement and was in the village right when the goats were coming home from their daily grazing. She says, "the goats kept coming and coming…96 of them! It was quite the event, as villagers all came together, chasing and feeding leaves to the goats. They told me how when a goat gives birth to a baby, they are thrilled. When a goat gives birth to twins, the entire village celebrates. Annie (the goat) was a legend in the village, as she was quite the fertility goddess."

Annie’s proud owner shares his story:

“I remember when we had to leave our land so suddenly. We lost all
our land and shelter. We had no clothes. The land at the camps
wasn’t irrigated as promised, so we were forced to do hard labor
work. It was difficult and none of us liked it. We are farmers by
nature and we love agriculture work; we love producing the food
we eat.

Instead, I had to do road construction and dig drains, earning 20
rupees per day (50 rupees below minimum wage). Sometimes I
would pay to rent a bull for 2 or 3 weeks so that I could work on
cultivating the land. Despite all this hard work, my wife, three
daughters and I still had no proper shelter or food.
Three and a half years ago, one goat (Annie) was provided to us.
She had 1 son and we sold him to buy food and household
materials. A year later, another goat was provided to us. Then
Annie gave birth to 4 female goats, which we sold to buy 2 bulls.
Now, I no longer have to pay to rent bulls for land cultivation and
I’ve even rented out my bulls to others. I get to spend my days
doing more land cultivation work and grazing animals. I also
earned enough money to build a shed for the goats.
With the goats, I now know that if I require financial support, I can
sell one in case of emergency. I have food security. As for the entire
village, we now have freedom from the debts to our landlord.”

Over the past three years, each family in Camp 6 has sold at least 2 goats and the herd is growing steadily. The villagers are taking good care of their goats, making sure they receive yearly vaccinations and plenty of leaves to eat. They understand the long-term value these goats can provide them and how they are helping to improve their lives.

Read more about our Livelihood Local Resource Development programs.