Understory "Fitness Chickens" Open Up a Path to Poverty Alleviation and Income Growth in Habahe County
"Captain, thank you. Look, the chicks you bought are growing so fast! In a few more months they can be sold for money. If it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't know what to do to get out of poverty." On May 3, when the work team captain of Ximayishahu Village, Jiayilema Township, Habahe County, came to the home of impoverished resident Guli Humatai, she was tending to the chicks she was raising, and a long-absent smile appeared on her face.
Guli Humatai is 37 years old this year and has two children, both in elementary school. Her husband was unable to do physical labor two years ago due to a serious illness and has been recuperating at home year-round. Although she is covered by social assistance for the impoverished, the debts her husband owed for medical treatment once weighed her down so much that she lost confidence in life. "Before my husband got sick, he farmed at home and I went out to work. Our family's life was still quite good. But now my husband has to see a doctor and take medicine every month, the children are still young and need someone to care for them, and I no longer go out to work. Life is much harder than before," Guli said helplessly.
What Guli never expected was that just when she was at her wit's end, a turning point appeared. After the village work team sent by the Habahe County Party Committee Organization Department was stationed in the village, they learned of Guli's family situation, visited her home many times to understand the family circumstances, analyze the causes of her difficulties, and identify her assistance needs, and based on the actual situation, tailor-made an income-increasing plan for her. First, based on the village's actual conditions, the work team discussed with the village "two committees" and hired Guli as a village cleaner, paying a cleaning fee of 5,000 yuan per year. Second, they encouraged Guli to start with small things and try developing understory "fitness chickens" (chickens that run in woodland for long periods, commonly known as free-range chickens), and to use this as a long-term path to prosperity.
Seeing that Guli had no capital to buy chickens, the work team paid in advance to buy 60 chicks for her, and invited township technicians to guide her on breeding techniques and explain disease prevention knowledge to ensure the healthy growth of the chicks. At present, the chicks are growing well, and Guli has also seen hope for increasing her income. She happily calculated an account for the work team: from raising chickens alone, selling chickens and eggs in one year can bring in 4,000-5,000 yuan. She will certainly expand the breeding further, and from now on her family's life has something to look forward to.