Tsunami Files #19: Milk: It Does a Community Good

Villagers in Nochikulam, Sri Lanka were looking for a way to make enough money to support themselves and their families.  Some chose to take advantage of the rice mill that PWRDF and its partner agency OfERR built in the village.  Others wished to rear dairy cattle.

Fifteen members of the village formed a milk collection collective, enabling the members to bring the milk from their cows together and sell it to a wholesale centre, avoiding the middle man.  The members of the collective now make about 50% more money for their milk.

Mrs. Lakshmi, a member of the group, is responsible for taking the containers of milk from each member and measuring it as it is added to the milk canisters.  She explains that the peak period for milk production is March to September, and that milk with a higher percentage of milk fat is worth more: 41% milk fat is good, 32% is average.

Higher milk fat percentages are gained by feeding the cows good quality fodder, which the members are able to get from the rice mill””the husks of the rice that is milled.  This symbiotic relationship allows the rice farmers to make a bit of extra money, and allows the dairy ranchers to have higher quality milk.

This kind of integrated development is what comes from long-term work in the community.  OfERR has been working with the village of Nochikulam since 2004, and continues to work to help the residents, who are returned refugees from India or people who had been displaced by the war, to improve their lives.  Their next goal is to introduce organic and ecological farming techniques to the community, enabling them to reduce their reliance on expensive chemical inputs.

Nochikulam’s milk really does the community good- pass it on!