First batch of sheep flown in by aircraft.

The villagers at Masakenari, located deep in the southern rainforest of Guyana, took delivery of their first installment of live ewes yesterday afternoon.

The animals are the part of a village led initiative to begin diversifying their agriculture and livestock activities. They have recognized the need to consume less carnivorous fish based on a recent study by CIDA and contacted RAM over a year ago to work with them on the project.

A second load of animals is soon to be repositioned using the Cessna 206 bush plane that is regularly called into action for medical purposes. The male sheep of a different breed are still on the coast and have been donated by the Min. of Agriculture, while the females were donated by the Dadanawa Ranch.

Special thanks to Duane de Freitas and his team for also de-worming, spraying, and securing the animals. The sheep had to initially be transported by boat to depart from Wichabai airstrip due to high flooding of the Rupununi river. Additional flooding of the upper Essequibo meant that the final approach to the village from Gunn's strip was by doug-out canoe.

A tarpaulin was used to protect the interior of the plane and the young animals were leg-tied then transported in rice bags for security. While they did manage to shift positions in the aircraft initially, the animals appeared to settle down at cruising altitude.

See an April 12 blog entry for other details.