The Road to Becoming an Ubuntu Community

How the selection should happen

• The opportunity and the selection process are explained openly in the community.
• Women, elders and other trusted community members have a reasonable opportunity to contribute.
• The community considers both need and the ability to care responsibly for a goat.
• The reasons for proposing each woman are explained simply and honestly.
• Family relationships or other possible conflicts of interest are mentioned openly.
• The five proposed women are treated with dignity and may freely accept or decline.
• The selection does not require any candidate to pay money, provide a favour or surrender part of her future herd.

Qualities the community should look for

• a genuine need for a new opportunity;
• willingness and practical ability to care for goats every day;
• readiness to work closely with four other women;
• honesty in relation to animals, money, equipment and records;
• willingness to learn and to ask for help when necessary;
• acceptance of the Care and Reward Fund and Community Growth Fund principles;
• reasonable support from her household for her participation and ownership.

Being unable to read or write must not prevent a suitable woman from being selected. The process and later documents must be explained in a language she understands.

Information provided to Ubuntu Goats

The community provides the names of the five proposed women, a short explanation of how the selection was organised, the reasons for each proposal and any relevant concerns or family connections.

Ubuntu Goats may ask questions, speak separately with proposed participants or community members, request that part of the process be repeated, or decide that the selection does not yet meet the required standard. Ubuntu Goats does not simply replace the community’s choice with its own; its role is to check whether the process was fair and consistent with the Ubuntu principle.

The essential principle

• Each founding woman will receive one young female goat and will own that goat.
• Her female kids and all later female descendants remain part of her own herd.
• Male kids are cared for properly and sold when they are healthy and old enough.
• Male kids are registered as community animals and their net sale proceeds go into the Community Growth Fund.
• The Community Growth Fund pays the complete route from caring for and selling male kids to buying, preparing and delivering a young female goat and individual start-up materials for another selected woman.
• The separate Care and Reward Fund supports the care of the existing female herd and agreed shared needs.
• The women select a new participant fairly, but they do not decide when the Growth Fund contains enough money to start the purchase.
• A later participant receives a female goat, its first agreed health care and the same individual care package needed to begin responsibly. She does not automatically receive all shared founding support provided to the original group.

The group prepares

• a simple list with the names and contact details of the five women;
• a regular way and place to meet;
• a method for reaching a decision fairly;
• a plan for daily care when one woman is temporarily unavailable;
• a simple way to record important events involving goats and the two Funds.

The proposed location should provide

• reasonable access for all five women;
• protection against flooding, rain, direct sun, dogs, theft and other dangers;
• space for ventilation, a dry sleeping area and future herd growth;
• a separate area for a sick goat or a goat giving birth;
• reasonable long-term security of use.

The plan identifies

• who will provide labour;
• which suitable local materials can be contributed;
• which materials still need to be purchased;
• who will collect quotations or confirm local prices;
• how materials and money will be checked;
• when the work should begin and be completed.

Ubuntu Goats does not provide an unrestricted building allowance. Any agreed contribution is a fixed maximum contribution and will normally be paid directly to a supplier or provided as materials.

The final check considers

• a dry and, where possible, raised sleeping area;
• protection from rain and direct sun;
• adequate ventilation and a safe enclosure;
• protection against dogs, theft and other avoidable dangers;
• a separate space for illness or birth;
• sufficient initial space for the five goats and their young.

The women prepare

• a safe place for the shared equipment;
• an arrangement for access by all five women;
• a simple equipment list;
• a responsible way to clean, return and replace shared items later.

The shared equipment belongs to the group. It may not be divided, sold or used for unrelated purposes.

Before delivery

• the goats are checked as carefully as reasonably possible for health and suitability;
• the purchase price and seller are recorded;
• initial deworming and vaccination are arranged where appropriate;
• safe transport is planned;
• each woman knows which goat she will receive and what immediate care it needs.

During this period the women demonstrate that they can

• provide responsible daily care, clean water, suitable feed and safe shelter;
• help one another when one woman is ill, absent or experiencing serious difficulty;
• protect and maintain the shared shelter and equipment;
• report illness, pregnancy, birth, death, loss and other important events honestly;
• cooperate with registration, vaccination, deworming and identification;
• respect each woman’s ownership of her female goat and female descendants;
• respect the community status of male kids and the future Growth Fund rules;
• discuss difficulties early and respond responsibly.

Problems do not have to be hidden

A sick animal, a death, temporary absence, poverty or an honest mistake does not by itself mean failure. What matters is whether the problem was reported, the animals were protected, reasonable help was sought and the women acted openly and responsibly.

If an essential condition has not yet been met

The GMD 10,000 contribution may be postponed. Ubuntu Goats gives clear reasons and, where the problem can be corrected, a reasonable period and clear corrective steps. Illness, temporary absence or an honestly reported problem is not by itself a reason to refuse the contribution.

Deliberate neglect, a secret sale or disappearance, misuse of money or materials, falsification, concealment or persistent refusal to respect the agreements may prevent payment.

Permitted purposes

• registration, tags, deworming, vaccination and agreed first care for female kids;
• necessary animal-health care for the existing female herd;
• agreed task-based liaison costs connected with that care and registration;
• essential repair of the communal shelter;
• replacement of essential shared care equipment;
• exceptional feed support during a serious and documented shortage;
• other goat-related care costs expressly permitted by the Operating Rules.

Not permitted

• personal or household expenses;
• human medical expenses;
• loans or division of the money among the women;
• clothing, celebrations, school costs, telephones or unrelated community expenses;
• costs belonging to the sale of male kids or the start of a new participant.

How a decision is made

1. A woman proposes an expenditure.
2. The five women discuss it and consider known future obligations.
3. At least three of the five women approve it.
4. The liaison checks that the purpose is permitted, sufficient money is available and the decision is recorded.
5. Where practical, payment is made directly to the provider or supplier.

The liaison checks the rules and records; he does not replace the women’s permitted choice with his personal preference.

The female kid

• is registered in the Community Goat Register in the name of the woman who owns the mother;
• receives the agreed first health care and Ubuntu Goats identification;
• remains hers and enlarges her personal herd;
• has its agreed initial care costs charged to the Care and Reward Fund.

The male kid

• is linked in the Register to its mother and the woman caring for it;
• is registered as an Ubuntu Community animal, not as freely saleable personal property;
• remains under responsible care until the agreed sale;
• has its identification, health, sale and transport costs charged to the Community Growth Fund;
• is sold transparently and its full net proceeds enter the Community Growth Fund.

From male kid to new beginning

1. The male kid is registered, identified, cared for and prepared for sale.
2. Necessary health, transport, market and liaison costs are recorded.
3. The male kid is sold at a reasonable and transparent local price.
4. The full net proceeds enter the Growth Fund.
5. The five women select a new participant by majority and according to the agreed criteria.
6. Family members receive no automatic priority.
7. The liaison verifies and records the selection. Final approval is required.
8. When sufficient money is available for the complete start, a suitable young female goat is selected and purchased.
9. The Fund pays the goat, transport, first health care, registration, tag, individual care package of GMD 2,000 and necessary liaison work.
10. The new woman receives the goat and joins the same system of responsibilities.

The review covers

• participation, cooperation, mutual help and conflict resolution;
• daily care, water, feed, observation and hoof care;
• safety, cleanliness and maintenance of the shelter;
• health, illness, treatment, deworming and vaccination;
• pregnancy, birth and care of mothers and newborns;
• tags, registration and agreement between the animals and the Goat Register;
• ownership and care of female goats and their female descendants;
• registration, care, sale and proceeds of male kids;
• fair selection of any new participant;
• correct separation and use of both Funds;
• availability and condition of shared equipment;
• communication, evidence, previous corrective actions and honest reporting.

Evidence and verification

The liaison compares the answers with the Goat Register and may inspect the animals, shelter and equipment. Reasonable evidence may include identification numbers, treatment dates, photographs, receipts, attendance records, direct observation or another reliable form of confirmation. Lack of literacy, a smartphone or a formal receipt does not automatically cause failure if the facts can be verified reliably in another way.

Problems are judged by the response

The review does not ask whether everything was perfect. A sick or dead goat does not automatically prevent a contribution. The important questions are whether the problem was reported honestly, reasonable action was taken, advice was followed and nothing important was deliberately hidden.

Three possible outcomes

• Approved: all applicable conditions are met and the contribution is paid.
• Temporarily held: a correctable point remains open and the women receive a clear correction period.
• Not approved: a serious breach occurred or a correctable problem was not remedied in time. No contribution is paid for that quarter.

Serious breaches

A normal correction period need not be offered for deliberate concealment of a birth or sale, falsification, personal taking of Fund money, unauthorised sale of a female or male goat, deliberate removal of a tag, serious neglect or refusal of reasonable verification. The facts must always be examined fairly before a decision is made.