| “Can you come help us? One of our cows has been trying to have her calf for two days now and we don't know what to do. We've tried to get the local vets to come but they are not able to. Please come as soon as you can.” |
 |
That was a phone call we received about two months ago from the leader of a local partner group. For the past two years, MMF has been helping this partner in Wiang PaPao district to implement a project that focuses on raising livestock. Eighty-three families have received cattle using loans provided through a partnership with Heifer Project International (HPI). Savings groups, biogas development, and fish pond development are also taking place but currently the main requests have related to animal health. To accommodate these requests, the first village-based animal health training took place on January 18 and 19. The training was based on lessons learned in Nepal , using materials with lots of diagrams that have been translated into Thai. This training will continue during the next four months, with a few days of training taking place each month.
It was also time for regular vaccinations for Foot and Mouth Disease, so the first two days concentrated on prevention and how to give injections properly. We also spent time learning to restrain animals properly, and how to take care of vaccines. Ten volunteers from five different villages- which together represent 197 families- took part, and they learned with four staff from the MMF. Boon, Chet, Karibow, and Peter were the agriculture team staff who took part. The trainees got lots of “hands-on” experience as they vaccinated 170 animals. We also collected data about different animals in the villages, how many had been sick, and the concerns of local farmers. This information will help us better prepare future classes.
Regarding the cow mentioned above (the one which could not deliver her calf), the outcome was not good. We drove almost two hours in our four-wheel drive to reach the village, and the calf was already dead and dry. We were not able to deliver the calf but the cow was still healthy and she was sold for meat. It was a sad development, but one which helped to convince everyone that we really needed to do some basic training. We sincerely think that if a trained farmer had been there, the calf could have been delivered the day before. We look forward to further training in the days ahead! |
