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In
eco-cities of the future, small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs will
play an important role in meat production, providing urban employment and in
reducing the volume of organic wastes that needs to dispose. Unlike larger
sized livestock, rabbits and guinea pigs have many advantages as they can be
kept in cages, either indoor or outdoor and requiring only small spaces.
Vegetable wastes from the kitchen wastes can be used to feed them. Biomass
wastes e.g. lawn grass from parks can also be used to feed rabbits. In two
Kenyan projects, 7 rabbitries were constructed and are managed by school
children. Rabbits are sold to their school kitchens and the incomes
deposited into their micro-loan fund for future use by the children. The
project provided vocational and skills training which can help children to
start their own businesses or generate supplementary income if they are
unable to go to secondary school or university.
Based on
Kenyan experiences, this paper offers a project idea to Chinese eco-cities
and to invite the development of co-operations. It suggests the
establishment of “rabbit centers” and ideally in public parks where there is
lawn grass and near apartment residences, and also in community gardens and
in schools. Each center will have a rabbitry that can be managed even by one
person or by school children. The Center can have many functions. Depending
on its location, a rabbit center at a park can provide occupational
activities for the elderly and serve as a recreational and educational center
especially for children. It can provide space to the public who wish to keep
their rabbits at the center. This center can also have a restaurant and a
business and tourist center for sales of souvenirs. It can also serve as a
distribution center for cages that are loaned to families and to supply
bunnies to private homes. Rabbit Centers at schools can provide space for
children to keep their rabbits if they don’t have the required space at their
homes.
These
Rabbit Centers may also have guinea pigs as they are also kept for their meat.
Keywords: meat, wastes, rabbits, guinea pigs, community gardens, parks,
schools, |