The Best Thing About Goats

For one family in rural Vietnam, the Gift of Hope of goats is empowering them to earn enough money to send their two sons to school — and dream of a more stable future.

Goats are great for a lot of reasons. They provide nourishing milk, can help keep down weeds in a yard, and their manure is perfect fertilizer for a vegetable garden — not to mention that they’re pretty cute!

But one thing you may not know unless you’ve raised goats yourself is that they’re relatively low maintenance and low cost. This, more than anything, makes them the perfect income-generating tool for a family working to overcome poverty. And that’s why each year, goats are one of the most popular items from Holt’s Gifts of Hope catalog to give to families in need. Families like Vien’s.

Vien lives in rural Vietnam with his wife and two sons.

“We had food, but not much,” says Vien, as he sits on a short red stool on his front porch. “We had to borrow money from family and neighbors, or advance money from our employer, to pay for school fees and supplies for my kids.”

The boys, Hai and Hao, are 9 and 13 years old. They love soccer and both say they someday want a job in IT. When we meet them, they sit close next to each other, and Hoa looks to his big brother when we ask them questions. They are both wearing their school uniforms from their school day.

They boys are doing well now, but this hasn’t always been the case…

The Coconut Capital of Vietnam

Lush is the best word to describe the property that Vien’ family home sits on. The two-hour drive south from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to their village felt like driving through uncultivated jungle. But upon closer look, the jungle is endless rows of intentional coconut trees. This region, Ben Tre, is known as the coconut capital of Vietnam. Dozens of different varieties of coconuts grow here, and shops along the road sell bowls, chopsticks, candies and more – all made from coconut meat and shells. For many families in this region, coconuts are the means of their livelihood.  

“Some families hired me to harvest coconuts,” Vien shares. Vien and his wife, Chi, also help with planning weddings and funerals in their village. “But it was on and off, I didn’t have money to buy things,” he says about their work. It was never enough for Vien and Chi to meet their sons’ needs — not even to purchase enough food to eat.

But this was all “before having goats,” Vien says.

Once their family received goats as a Gift of Hope from a generous Holt donor, everything changed.

Raising Goats to Overcome Poverty

“We decided to raise goats because we don’t have to invest much in feed,” Vien says. “For pigs, the cost is very high. But for goats, they just eat leaves and the grasses around — very easy.”

Raising goats is especially easy here in Ben Tre because the abundance of leaves and grasses mean there’s very little cost required to raise the goats. Vien wanted to raise goats for a long time, but like many families who struggle to overcome poverty, they simply didn’t have the startup costs to make it possible — they couldn’t afford to buy a single goat!

“For goats, they just eat leaves and the grasses around — very easy.”

But when Vien shared this desire to raise goats with local officials, they helped connect him with Holt International. In Vietnam, this is how Holt works. Holt works in partnership with local government officials who identify families in need and then refer them to Holt for educational support for their children, support for single mothers, help earning a stable income and more.

A Holt social worker came to Vien’s home and got to know his family, and when a donor decided to give two female goats through Holt’s Gifts of Hope catalog, Holt knew just who to give them to.

This was just 16 months ago, and in this time, everything has changed for Vien and hi family.

Goats Through Gifts of Hope

In August last year, they received two young female goats through Holt’s Gifts of Hope. Then each goat gave birth to a baby – one female and one male kid. Seeing the growth, Vien and Chi decided to invest even more in their goat venture. They took out a small loan to repair and update their goat enclosure, and then they purchased two additional female goats — increasing their herd to six.

Later that year, they sold two of their goats for much-needed income.

“We sell the goats for meat,” Vien says. “Part of the money we spent on buying new goats, and the rest we’ve spent on the children’s school.”

Now, the whole family has enough food to eat every day, they have money for the boys’ school supplies, and they don’t have to borrow money from family and neighbors anymore. With a sustainable source of income, not only are they getting by on their own, but they’re dreaming of how to grow and become even more successful.

The success they’ve had with their goat business has also given Vien and Chi more confidence as parents — and in trying other ventures to overcome poverty.

Successfully Overcoming Poverty

“This newfound income not only supports the family,” says their Holt social worker, “but also empowers them to aim even higher.”

Just a couple months ago, the family inherited Vien’s brother’s small shop and produce stand, which Chi now manages from their home. Their front yard, which is close to the road in their village, has long tables full of leafy lettuce, pineapple, green beans, cucumbers and more. From a shed attached to their house they also sell packaged food, beverages and other small items.

They plan to continue investing in this business as well, hopefully saving enough to purchase a tin roof to cover their produce stand so they can better serve their customers during the rainy season.

The best part of their successful business ventures is what it means for Hai and Hao. Because of their parents’ hard work and determination — and the start-up gift they received from a Holt donor — the boys will have enough to eat each day, they can keep going to school, and they’ll have all their needs met, all while they grow up in the loving care of their parents.

The Best Part

Once we finish drinking from the fresh coconuts they’ve served us on their front porch, the boys lead the way to show us their goats. Hai and Hao are proud to say that they help their dad take care of the four goats they have today.

The new goat enclosure is elevated several feet off the ground, with sturdy wooden poles framing the open-air enclosure. The metal roof covers the entire enclosure for the goats. It was an investment into a new life and source of income that they knew would pay off, as it already has.

Hai confidently goes into the enclosure, puts a rope loosely around a brown and white goat and leads it outside. The other goats remain in their pen, happily bleating and munching on fresh leaves the boys put in their troughs.

For this family in Vietnam, a goat isn’t just a goat. It’s a practical, poverty-proof investment into their future — all made possible by generous Gift of Holt donors across the world. For Vien, Chi, Hai and Hao, this makes goats truly the best.