Being 19 years old, pregnant, single and living in a small rural community may not be the ideal situation for any young woman. But Gabrielle Walker of Mount Vernon, St Thomas, is plucking for herself a brighter future through chicken rearing.

Walker is one of more than 100 women who have been benefiting from the Creating Sustainable Livelihoods European Union/Christian Aid project being implemented by the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre in five St Thomas communities.

As part of the project, Walker received 100 chickens in May 2009 and effectively charted a new path. Prior to that, she said she used to plant pepper and carrots with her father, an ex-banana worker, but now she has created her own enterprise.

"I sell (chickens) to people in Morant Bay. I sell to restaurants and household," said Walker, who is assisted by her family.

"The biggest money I made when I sold chickens one time is $15,000," she shared shyly.

Securing a market

Securing a market sometimes proves challenging for many farmers across the country. For Walker, this concern is no less compelling.

"When I have chicken to be ready in six weeks, I start looking the market four weeks before, so I already look the market before the chicken ready," she said.

The young businesswoman also networks with key persons in the area to secure orders. She credits some of her business savvy to the training she has received from the project.

"We get marketing training from RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority)," she emphasised.

Main challenge

In spite of the gains made so far, her main challenge lies in collecting money from sales.

"Sometimes, you don't get the money from the market same time. Sometimes it takes one month to get the money," she explained. But Walker is equal to the task and plans to keep raising chickens in the New Year.

In fact, the young farmer intends to use her profit to fund her tuition for nursing school after the baby is born.

"That is the plan, and if I go to school I will raise chicken same way," she said. Ultimately, Walker believes the "project has been good to me so far and it has helped the community to be involved in (development) activities".

The Creating Sustainable Livelihoods project was initiated following the decline of the local banana industry, from which many women earned their living. In December 2008, the livelihoods project first engaged community members in committees to identify areas of concern and then later provided tangible benefits such as providing cash crops, chickens and other livestock.

In a bid to produce and market chickens on a collective basis, Walker and the other 27 beneficiaries in Mount Vernon will soon benefit from the construction of a slaughterhouse. The abattoir will be completed in a few weeks.