Atifun Nisha is content with life. A recipient of the $1000 grant from Government’s Small and Micro Business Grant, Ms Nisha put the money to good use and expanded what she al­ready had in place.

A resident of Karavi in Ba, Ms Ni­sha with her supportive husband, Babu, went into goat farming after they saw the huge returns could be gained from such a business.

“We have two and a half acres of land and on it we graze the goats and have a simple farm where we grow to sell and also grow food for our own family consumption,” she said.

“We have 45 goats in total at the moment and in a special holiday like Easter or Christmas we can make up to $300 in a week.”

Ms Nisha is grateful to the Gov­ernment for giving them the grant, which she said helped buy the es­sentials she needed.

“In TC Winston, the goat pen was damaged. And through the grant, we have been able to buy roofing iron and other essentials that we needed for the goats,” she said.

Her husband equally cares for the goats while maintaining his own small business.

“I have a carrier business and I am based in Ba town. But at every 2pm, I have to make sure that I am home to take all of them to graze,” he said.

“I sit with them on the hillside for two to three hours and then I bring them back to the pen. After that I go back to the carrier stand.”

The couple are thankful that they were chosen recipients of the grant.

“We are indebted to the Govern­ment for giving this to us. It has truly enabled us to expand our busi­ness, to create a more stable foun­dation for our family income.”

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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