In 2018, Refugee Trans Initiative started an entrepreneurial rabbit business in Kenya. As part of our efforts to support refugee livelihood projects in Kenya, ORAM jumped at the chance to help the business through its implementation phase and assist with the business development.
We asked Vanilla, the founder of the rabbit business to tell us about the farm and her experiences so far.
“Hello, my name is Vanilla and I am a transgender refugee from Uganda. I started the rabbit business about a year and a half ago with my community based group Refugee Trans Initiative. At first it was a challenge as we only had five rabbits and a starting capital of around $100. Initially we struggled to provide enough food, buy vaccines and search for a market to sell the rabbits at. However, over time the business started to grow. The rabbits started reproducing so we could start selling the surplus to generate an income and buy more rabbits.
The business is now steadily growing thanks to ORAM. ORAM supported our business so that we could expand and sustain ourselves in Kenya. We envision that the farm will keep on growing so we can supply to supermarkets and larger entities. We hope to have a store one day and create a brand where people keep returning to buy our produce.