Determining Which Animal to Use in Projects

The most important factors we consider for animal placement include:

" Selection of quality, locally adapted animal species
" Appropriate, low-cost housing
" Proper nutrition through the use of locally available feed
" Marketing strategies for the animal and animal products

We rely on our field experts, project leaders, field representatives and project participants to help determine exactly what type of animal each project area needs. We provide livestock, trees or other materials on an as-needed basis and ask partners to Pass on the Gift to other families after allowing them to make the final decision about what they will receive. We provide some guidelines but allowing the project participants to make the final decisions further guarantees the success of the project.

The sustainability of our programs depends on many factors, including the appropriate community members and effective implementation/monitoring of the projects. We assess the success of projects using a variety of criteria that are summarized here.