Assaf Ewe Breeding Stock Project

Assaf Ewe Breeding Stock Project in Khan Younis Governorate

From assistance that is consumed to a productive asset that multiplies

164 Assaf ewes for 50 households with a veterinary and feed package to sustain production

The difference between assistance and empowerment is that the first is consumed and the second produces. That principle shaped the design of the Assaf ewe breeding stock project: instead of distributing aid that ends when it is used up, beneficiary households received a living productive asset capable of reproducing and generating recurring income year after year.

SAFE implemented the project in Khan Younis Governorate in March 2003, funded by the Al-Khair Coalition, at a total cost of USD 98,200.

The Project in Numbers

• 164 ewes of the high-yielding Assaf breed
• 50 beneficiary households, each receiving approximately three ewes
• An integrated support package per beneficiary: veterinary kit, six months of feed, veterinary extension, and seasonal vaccinations
• USD 98,200 total project cost, averaging around USD 1,964 per beneficiary household

Why the Assaf Breed?

Because it is a high-yielding dual-purpose breed, combining strong milk production, quality meat, and high fertility and twinning rates. This means a single ewe represents not one income stream but three: milk and dairy products, offspring, and the growing value of the flock itself making breed selection a technical decision that shapes the project's viability rather than a secondary detail.

Why an Integrated Package?

Because distributing animals alone is not enough. A beneficiary who receives ewes without feed may be forced to sell them within weeks, and a flock without veterinary care is exposed to mortality and declining productivity. The support was therefore designed as an interlocking package:

• Six months of feed covers the critical period until the flock begins to yield a return
• The veterinary kit and seasonal vaccinations protect the asset from disease and reduce mortality risk
• Veterinary extension transfers knowledge to the beneficiary and builds their capacity to manage the flock independently going forward

This design is what separates livestock distribution from a genuine livelihoods project.

SAFE's Role

SAFE led the project drawing on its agricultural and veterinary expertise: selecting the breed and technical specifications for the animals, identifying beneficiaries against eligibility criteria and capacity to raise a flock, procuring the ewes, feed, and veterinary supplies, providing veterinary extension and field follow-up, and delivering the seasonal vaccination programme.

Partnership for Livelihoods

The project reflects a core dimension of SAFE's identity: agricultural and developmental work alongside humanitarian response. With support from the Al-Khair Coalition, a single grant became 50 small household enterprises capable of growth and continuity, within a livestock sector that forms one of the pillars of food security and the rural economy in the Gaza Strip.

Each ewe was not assistance to be consumed, but the beginning of a flock and an income that grows over time.