The piggery is located at the FNGA compound at Jérémie, the central city in the Grand Anse department. It holds more than 84 pigs and is functioning very well.
LWF supported the piggery until 2010. Today FNGA is still running it. It is a profitable enterprise that creates jobs for four people and produces more than 380 little pigs a year.
FNGA sells those pigs to the farmers, to NGOs that are buying for farmers in their programs and individuals and restaurants from Jérémie, the Grande Anse department's capital.
In 2010, NCA supported the installation of a biodigester next to the pig plant. The waste of the pigs was put into biodigester and transformed into methane gas and fertilizers. It worked until October 2016, when Hurricane Matthew flooded the whole area.
(The pigs swam over the river and later returned to the piggery.)
FNGA used to use the biodigester gas for cooking and the biodigester waste as compost or fertilizer for some of the farmers' gardens. The farmers appreciated the fertilizer and, on our visit, talked about the differences in their soil and how they had a better harvest in the future. FNGA is in the process of repairing the biodigester and is thinking about new strategies to manage it better (make it stormproof and get a better way to collect the methan gas) and use and sell, if necessary).
This project is an excellent testimony of the sustainability of the work carried out by LWF and NCA in this part of the world.
Fiona is an example of how well managed something creates more opportunities for the future.
Before leaving, I patted Fiona on her head; she liked it and approached the gates so I could continue. With a heavy heart (I couldn't think of a pig that is affectionate like that), I left the piggery thinking about the job well done by FNGA.
I want to express my gratitude to all LWF and NCA supporters who helped create this sustainable enterprise so crucial in the lives of thousands of people in Haiti.
LWF/ P. Raymond. Edited by LWF/ C. Kästner