Dairy farming boosts village economy [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Rahati village has an additional advantage of a large section of its population belonging to Gawali or shepherd community. Taking advantage of their expertise, all other villagers have taken up dairy and goat farming which has given a boost to the village economy. The village has set an example of a mini milk revolution. Rahati now sells 500-700 litres of milk and milk products like butter milk every day to the dairy company Dinshaw's. 

It is again the women folk who are doing majority of the dairy work. "Almost each household has either cows or buffaloes now. Before the Nabard project, only the Gawalis were into milk business. But after the project when the earnings increased, each household bought either a cow or buffalo. Women take care of all the rearing activities like bringing fodder and milking. They also prepare curd, ghee and butter milk from the milk. We have a small cooling plant of Dinshaw's near Kondhali. Men bring the milk there," said Sandhya Puri, a member of the Sanyukta Mahila Samiti (SMS). 

Another SMS member Sushila Kadu tells that they have support from the other SMS in the village cluster consisting of Joga Heti and Nagarjuni villages. Dattu Chopde, a veterinary doctor from Nagarjuni treats sick animals. He even guides villagers on the kind of feed the animals should get.

Landless families of Mangala Giri and Chandrakala Bhad are two of the many families whose fortunes took a turn after they took up goat farming. "Most of us started with just one goat. In two years each family has sold at least eight goats and got enough money to convert it into a community business," told Chandrakala. 

Sandhya, who is a BCom graduate, keeps all the accounts. She guides the women in proper utilization of their money by investing into self-help groups or starting tailoring shops in the village. "Some girls have learnt stitching. Even if they get stitching orders from 2-3 villages around, they can add lots to family income," she said. 

Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers

Source: The Times of India