Goats For Gals Is On The Air

Last week, after much anticipation and many delays, the goats were received in Akka Ighane.  I made a visit to them and their new pen area (maintained by the Association) just to peek in and have a look and take a few photos.  We got:  1 buck, 9 mature females (3 of which are now pregnant), and 3 babies.  Quite a bit more than the original grant money was supposed to cover, so I'm very pleased.  The Association has really done an excellent job so far of fulfilling their end of the agreement, of which providing the pen area and food was a major part.  Right now they're eating a combination of barley (from the local fields), alfalfa (from local fields), some kind of prepared food mixture, and of course everyone's household food waste. Several of them also tried to eat my shoelaces right off my feet.  I have full confidence that the project is going to grow and thrive in the coming months and years.

Again, these are Alpine dairy goats, which look nothing at all like the native goats you see everywhere in Morocco.  They're much bigger, have horns (both sexes), and a much lighter, smoother coat.  And they produce a lot of milk, about 3 liters/day.  After I mentioned that I would like to sample some of the milk sometime, one of the women responsible for looking after them insisted on immediately milking the 3 goats that are currently producing and sending me and Bjai home with a bottle.  It was delicious, not nearly so heavy as straight cow's milk, and very sweet.  White gold!

The Buck (note his gruff)

When I have a faster connection soon, I'll also post the rest of the pictures on my Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eriksyngle/