Knock Foundation

Poverty Eradication Piggery Project
The Poverty Eradication Piggery Project is an income-generating development venture instituted by the Matumaini Child Care Center in Tanzania. It aims to eradicate poverty in the families of the Matumaini children as well as other needy families caring for orphans in the surrounding villages. To date, 50 pigpens have been constructed with funding from Knock. Participating families are chosen by Matumaini and local village governments. Each family signs a contract in the presence of the village leaders that states they will care for the pigs, feed them, maintain the huts, and use the income from the sale of the piglets to support the basic needs of their family.

Knock’s and Matumaini’s goal is to continue growing this project with the aim of supporting more needy families caring for orphans and providing them the opportunity to become self-sufficient and care for the needs of their families. The cost of constructing one pen and providing pigs is about $400.

PEP Highlight: Mama Neema has taken her project to the next level. After realizing a significant profit from her pigs, she decided to use a portion of that money to open a small convenience shop in her village, where she sells everyday household items and makes even more money. She has shown a true level of entrepreneurship and is currently sending four children to school.

Six Mamas Project
This is a self-sustainable development project with six of the women in Rau Village, Tanzania, funded and supported by Knock. In February 2008, the women proposed the idea for each family to build both a chicken coop and pigpen with the goal of raising the animals and selling the eggs, chicks, and piglets in order to increase their families' incomes. Knock opened each woman her own bank account to give them complete autonomy and power over the income gained from this endeavor. In September 2009, the project became entirely sustained by the women themselves, with no outside financial assistance from Knock.