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An interesting article in the News today regarding raising Guinea Pigs as livestock. I've been aware that this is quite common in Peru for a long time , and its only our westernized minds that may reject the thought.
The breeding Cycle and growth rate Of Guinea Pigs may well put them on par with Rabbits.
Any for a post fall possible resource maybe worth a though or two.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38857881
Most people see them as fluffy adorable pets, but in Peru guinea pigs - or "cuy" as they are known locally - are a delicacy.
In the past few years their popularity has really taken off and a boom in guinea pig farming is helping many peasant farmers living below the minimum wage to get out of poverty.
You can hear them as soon as you walk into the dusty barn. The open cages are filled with hundreds of squeaking brown and white guinea pigs, waiting for their owner, Maria Camero, to fill up their red water buckets and give them corn.
"In the past it was only people living in the mountains who bred guinea pigs but now we've realised it's a good business," says Maria.
"You can start with something like $100 (£80) and that money quickly grows because by three months the guinea pigs can start breeding and they will have up to five babies, so the business grows fast."
Maria and her family produce guinea pigs on a much larger scale now thanks to her son-in-law Alessio Cresci. The Italian fell in love with Shelia, Maria's daughter, and decided to move to Peru and build up their business.
Maria went from looking after a few guinea pigs to being part of a team breeding hundreds.
As well as supplying to local restaurants, they also sell and sometimes donate start-up kits to local farmers who want to get involved, consisting of a breeding pair of guinea pigs and the food and pens that they need.
"I have a daughter who is 13 and I can afford to pay for her to go to a better school, I have also paid for my son to go to university and study to be a graphic designer. This business lets me do that," says Maria.
Thirty dollars a month is the average wage for a peasant farmer. Many of them are now earning $130 a month, according to Lionel Vigil, the regional director of World Neighbours, a charity that helps them get started.
The key to their success is the restaurant business, which can't get enough of cuy. Farmers can sell them to local restaurants for about $8 and to high-end restaurants in Lima for up to $13.
"The Incas have eaten cuy for centuries, but in the past it was only farmers in the Andes still eating them," says Mr Vigil.
"When they migrated to Lima they carried on, and little by little other Peruvians from different backgrounds started to get a taste for it and restaurants started to buy guinea pigs."
The breeding Cycle and growth rate Of Guinea Pigs may well put them on par with Rabbits.
Any for a post fall possible resource maybe worth a though or two.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38857881
Most people see them as fluffy adorable pets, but in Peru guinea pigs - or "cuy" as they are known locally - are a delicacy.
In the past few years their popularity has really taken off and a boom in guinea pig farming is helping many peasant farmers living below the minimum wage to get out of poverty.
You can hear them as soon as you walk into the dusty barn. The open cages are filled with hundreds of squeaking brown and white guinea pigs, waiting for their owner, Maria Camero, to fill up their red water buckets and give them corn.
"In the past it was only people living in the mountains who bred guinea pigs but now we've realised it's a good business," says Maria.
"You can start with something like $100 (£80) and that money quickly grows because by three months the guinea pigs can start breeding and they will have up to five babies, so the business grows fast."
Maria and her family produce guinea pigs on a much larger scale now thanks to her son-in-law Alessio Cresci. The Italian fell in love with Shelia, Maria's daughter, and decided to move to Peru and build up their business.
Maria went from looking after a few guinea pigs to being part of a team breeding hundreds.
As well as supplying to local restaurants, they also sell and sometimes donate start-up kits to local farmers who want to get involved, consisting of a breeding pair of guinea pigs and the food and pens that they need.
"I have a daughter who is 13 and I can afford to pay for her to go to a better school, I have also paid for my son to go to university and study to be a graphic designer. This business lets me do that," says Maria.
Thirty dollars a month is the average wage for a peasant farmer. Many of them are now earning $130 a month, according to Lionel Vigil, the regional director of World Neighbours, a charity that helps them get started.
The key to their success is the restaurant business, which can't get enough of cuy. Farmers can sell them to local restaurants for about $8 and to high-end restaurants in Lima for up to $13.
"The Incas have eaten cuy for centuries, but in the past it was only farmers in the Andes still eating them," says Mr Vigil.
"When they migrated to Lima they carried on, and little by little other Peruvians from different backgrounds started to get a taste for it and restaurants started to buy guinea pigs."