I was so ashamed to see my dad catching insects, but later we saw money coming out of it. I am now helping him to take care of the butterfly cage…and I like the job. Before my dad started keeping butterflies, I used to miss classes since fee was not paid on time. I remember staying home for extra 2-3 weeks while my friends were already in school.
My daughter was suspended from school since I could not manage to pay school fees of TZS. 60,000. but, after selling 189 pupas I earned TZS. 256,840 and cleared the school fee. My daughter was so happy to get back to school since she almost missed her final exams.
Butterflies have given light to my house, I got TZS. 90,000 from sale of pupas and decided to install solar panel for lighting my house. My children were so happy to finally study under light bulbs, they extended their study hours from one hour in the past to, sometimes, until midnight.
In 2017 I sold 330 pupas for TZS. 419,430. I used the money to renovate my house…I replaced the old floor with modern tiles, put modern windows [aluminum]. The project has motivated many villagers and changed their attitude towards the forest, they respect the forest since they know that butterfly comes from the forests, so if they destroy the forest they will never get butterflies, and so the income.
