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Cattle Farming Project
=== Father Joseph
FAHD, Responsible ===
Objective
Setup and Development Project of a
cattle farm” at St. Sauveur Convent for the Trappists in Dlebta,
Kesserwan
The Trappist Order’s mission is to earn
their living through manual work which entails that they be
committed to the community they are in, wherever it may be, thereby
collaborating for a common goal, to support the natives’ wellbeing.
Through their earnings, Trappists invest in economic projects aimed
at benefiting the area’s residents by providing the largest number
of work opportunities to young adults and families especially in
times of war and instability as is the case with Lebanon today where
a large number of people emigrate in search of a secure future and
an honest living.
Cattle Farming and Cheese Dairy
In 1996, through the first fruits of their earnings, Trappist monks
of St. Sauveur launched two projects: Dairy Cow Breeding and Cheese
Making. Seeing the immediate positive outcome they had, countless
employment requests started pouring in. Realizing the people’s need
and feeling somehow implicated in their future, the Community was
eager to develop both projects further and ahead of schedule in
order to create the largest number of jobs possible. As a result,
the Community managed to:
• Hire 12 to 15 laborers in Cattle Farming and Cheese Dairy
operations
• Benefit a total of 15 villages in the area
• Provide work for the Community’s monks (a total of 20)
• Assist several poverty-stricken individuals and victims of War
Four years later, however, the region’s
farmers were having difficulty selling their milk and decided to
address the issue with the Convent before having to resort to
drastic measures such as shutting their businesses down. The
Community was intensely concerned for the farmers’ wellbeing and
continuity that it immediately decided to put a halt to its Cattle
Farming operation for the sake of keeping farmers in business,
ultimately purchasing their milk and helping in the growth of their
own farms. The decision pleased the region’s farmers and residents
and consequently helped the Community to further develop its cheese
dairy operation.
Current Economic Situation
Currently, however, the situation has taken a turn for the worse!
Since Prime Minister Hariri’s assassination, the Syrian troops’
withdrawal, a series of hideous assassinations, political
instability and the Israeli war of 2006, a number of the region’s
farmers were forced to shut down. As a result, the Community’s
Cheese Dairy operation was affected as it was now only receiving
half, sometimes even one third of the quantity of milk required for
the daily production, which is estimated at 800 to 1999 liters in
winter and 1500 liters in summer. To remedy the situation, the
Community had to secure the remaining quantity elsewhere, at the
risk of possibly running a less than ideal operation due to the
farmers’ inconsistency in supplying the prescribed quality and
quantity of milk. The solution proved fatal as it incurred a huge
loss and a big disappointment in the quality of Trappist dairy
products. As a consequence:
• Employees had to be let go and now only 4 remain
• Only 3 villages currently benefit as opposed to 15
• The Community’s financial situation is currently very weak
The Effect of Milk Shortages on
the Community
The reduced supply of milk which has initially weakened the daily
production is now posing a bigger threat for:
• The Community as a whole, which already suffers from the country’s
economic instability
• The market which is slowly losing sight of the Community’s
products
• The remaining employees of the Cheese Dairy operation who run the
risk of becoming either jobless or unpaid
Faced with this dilemma, the Community turned to the experts before
finally deciding to resume the Cattle Farm project in the earliest
possible time.
Financing the Project
Ordinarily, the Community would internally finance its projects and
their development, through regularly acquired earnings and profits;
however, due to the country’s current economic situation which has
been continuously deteriorating, the Community is unable to
undertake such a project, without the help and support of
benefactors, who may be aware of the urgency of this matter, and
find themselves implicated in reaching out to support fellow human
beings who run the risk of being put out of a job and subsequently
suffer more intolerable distresses.
Alloted Space
With the old farm space still available, the Community is further
encouraged to implement this project with a slight reorganization so
it could hold up to 30 cows and a few heifers.
The Required Number of Cows
The Community is now only intent on purchasing a total of 16 dairy
cows in order to:
1. Accommodate the existing need to
bring the production level back up to where it used to be
2. Facilitate complementary development through acquired earnings
3. Collaborate with the region’s farmers who currently supply the
milk
(a fact of great importance to the Community and the farmers who
appreciate it)
Project Beneficiaries
Undoubtedly, the project will be beneficial to all Lebanese people
whose future is in jeopardy; nonetheless, the following groups will
be directly impacted:
1. The Trappist Community, including
its mission and survival
2. Double the current number of 12 laborers and their families
3. The region’s farmers who supply the milk
Estimated Cost of the Project:
The budget estimate was prepared by an expert in the field in Euros,
and is subject to currency fluctuations. The following is a cost
breakdown:
|
Quantity |
Description |
Price In € |
|
16 |
Holstein
cows at €1850 each |
29600 |
|
1 |
Equipment & Accessories |
7990 |
|
1 |
Small Tow Tractor |
7000 |
|
|
Space Reorganizing |
7500 |
|
|
Total |
€
52090 |
52,090 Euros is equivalent to 70,000
USD at 1.3438 Conversion rate.
In this brief presentation, we hope we
have relayed our need as accurately as possible noting that it is
based on a social as well as an economic necessity – that being, a
farm which we can share along with our employees and farmers as one
family. I hope you will see the importance of this project and
support it accordingly. Moreover, we wish that this project wins
your and other non-profit organizations’ concern and favorable
consideration.
=== Father Joseph FAHD, Responsible === |
