APPEALS

SHEEP FOR TIBET: Economic Self-Sufficiency for Tibet's Nomads
Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health & Insight (BODHI)

NOTE: Unfortunately, we were unable to recently verify that this project is still in existence, but the sponsoring organization's website still works. --SLP

Goal: Economic self-sufficiency for Western Tibet's nomads

• Provide impoverished Tibetan nomad families with a 5-year loan of reproductive age ewes to foster economic self-suffienciency.
• Inject funds into the local economy by purchasing ewes from local nomads.
• Create a self-perpetuating sheep bank that will continue to loan sheep to poor households after the project ends.
• Assess the efficacy of the trial project and determine its utility for other nomadic pastoral regions in Tibet.

Administration, Monitoring & Evaluation

• Professor Goldstein will set up the program and oversee the local administrators, who will assume ongoing administrative costs.
• A retired nomad schoolteacher will monitor progress
• At the end of the trial, Professor Goldstein will return to Tibet to evaluate the program.

Trial program
We propose to implement the Revolving Sheep Bank in one nomad area as 5-year trial program. Each year, 5 impoverished nomad households will each receive a loan of 60 ewes purchased from richer local nomads with project funds.

We will provide funds to the local government to purchase 300 ewes in Year 1 and in each of the next 3 years. Households will repay 1/2 of their loan in Year 4 in fertile ewes (without interest) and 1/2 in Year 4. From Year 5, the Sheep Bank will be receiving 300 ewes per year, so it will be completely self-sufficient.

Assuming 10% annual mortality of adult sheep and 30% annual mortality of lambs, at the end of 5 years the Revolving Sheep Bank will be rapaid in full from the first year's loan. Each household will have 100-125 sheep in addition to having received the income from the wool of their sheep and from the skins of sheep that died over the 5-year period. They keep all the products: offspring, milk, wool, butter, and cheese.

Financial Needs
Budget:

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For more information:

Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health, & Insight (BODHI) Australia, Inc.
4 Queen St
Campbell Town
Tasmania, 7210
Australia
Tel: 61-3-63811675
Incorporation No. 2547

Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health, & Insight (BODHI)
905 Calle Miramar
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Tel: 310-378-0260
bodhi@iname.com
http://www.bodhi.net.au
Registered 501(c)(3)
Founded 1989