Huye, Rwanda, Therese Mukantwari and her husband, Etienne Ndikuryayo, are building a new future for their family in the hills of Huye District. Their family was once one of the most vulnerable in their community, but they moved from the uncertainty of casual employment to becoming landowners and father to a university student.
The main motivation for their new success is thanks to just one pig.
Prior to 2023, the family was not able to meet their basic needs. Their lives were based on small, random employment. They could never rely on that income to provide for their basic necessities on a consistent basis. All this changed when they participated in the Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Small Livestock Markets (PRISM) that provides vulnerable families with material support and education on how to develop a new mindset.
“Before it was very hard,” says Therese. “We relied on these smaller jobs, there were not enough.”
After Therese received the pig and a month’s worth of feed, the couple decided to look at the project as a business rather than just viewing the animal as a ‘gift’ from the project to Therese as her responsibility to care for by herself. This decision was based on the education she received through the project which enabled both Therese and Etienne to work together as a family through the use of a new model of family teamwork.
According to Therese, "I assisted my husband in caring for the pig. We collaborated on feeding and ensuring it grew properly.".
The first litter produced three piglets; the family nurtured them until the second litter, which produced ten piglets. The size of the pens had quickly exceeded their expectations, changing the way the couple viewed their lives from survival to investing in their future.
They delivered pigs over several sales to address urgent housing needs at first, but in the second major sale, they made a strategic investment that changed their entire outlook on life: a piece of land worth 300000 Rwandan Francs!
For Etienne, the secret was the teamwork they learned from the training sessions they attended together.
"I helped take care of the animals for my wife," he said. "And at the same time, I continued to manage all of my home chores, including my farming."
Their cooperation particularly changed their children's school situation. Because of the continued income generated by their growing livestock business, they now have the funds needed to help pay them for their education. One of their children is currently in the second year of university and represents a major milestone for the entire family to reach that level of growth.
Land ownership has given the family a stable base for their future and a new location to continue developing their agricultural business. From one pig, the family can now continue working towards building an ongoing viable livelihood through cooperative family effort by providing the necessary material resources. When these two factors are combined together, the transition from adversities to advancements becomes very apparent.
