The one that prevents the deadly Newcastle disease costs less than 20 cents. Hens need some kind of shelter where they can nest, and as your flock grows, you might want some wood and wire to make a coop. Many breeds can eat whatever they find on the ground (although it’s better if you can feed them, because they’ll grow faster). They are easy and inexpensive to take care of.

In fact, if I were in their shoes, that’s what I would do-I would raise chickens. (As a city boy from Seattle, I had a lot to learn!) It’s pretty clear to me that just about anyone who’s living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens. But through my work with the foundation, I’ve met many people in poor countries who raise chickens, and I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of owning these birds. There’s no single right answer, of course, and poverty looks different in different places. That’s a real question for the nearly 1 billion people living in extreme poverty today.

If you were living on $2 a day, what would you do to improve your life?