Christmas in July

Chemoyo & her son with K's Christmas goat

The gift that keeps on giving...

K received a wonderful gift this past Christmas (from my sister & her family): a GOAT!

The goat is gifted to a poor family in Kenya in her honor.

She received the gift certificate and card on Christmas day showing a photo of a goat - with a promise that she would receive the the actual photo of her goat with it's new family as soon as it was gifted. We received word from them a couple times letting us know that they were having some problems with the purchasing and donating of the animals due to problems in Kenya... so we patiently waited, until today when we received the photo!

I'm amazed at how useful this one goat will be to the family that received it. There is severe drought right now in Kenya, so the goat is ideal for these struggling areas.

Apparently, goats can thrive in extreme climates. Unlike cows, goats that are not lactating do well on poor, dry land by eating woody brush, leaves and weeds and in extremes of weather. Even when lactating, they can be healthy with a diet of weeds, but the taste of the milk becomes much stronger than when goats have grass. They also need less space than cows and goats' milk is highly nutritious, so it goes a long way to reducing malnutrition. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. When they aren't producing milk, some of the goat's blood can even be taken and drank to prevent dehydration/starvation.

Besides the milk they produce, goats do work that is essential to farming, work that is very costly to take care of by machine. They clear brush and all the woody weeds that no other animal will touch, like Canadian thistle, multiflora rose, poison ivy/oak. Unlike sheep, they will not eat grass; they prefer vegetation that is off the ground, which is perfect for clearing land and transforming scrub land into farm land. Goats get the land ready for the sheep to come in and finish the weeding by eating the ground vegetation down to just a couple of inches. And of course, goats fertilize the land, eventually transforming unproductive land into highly fertile, arable farm land.

Goats also have 2 or 3 kids a year, so the family can easily sell, or pass on a goat to someone else in need. And yes, when the goat has given everything else, it gives its meat to nourish the family. *sigh* Bittersweet... like The Giving Tree.

Makes me want a goat. Maybe some day.... right after my chickens?!

For now, we'll print the photo out so K can see her goat it it's new home anytime she wants!