Waling (Syangja), May 30: A farmer here has started making a decent income by producing cheese from goat milk. Dil Bahadur Gurung of Bhirkot municipality-8 started earning tens of thousands of rupees of income producing cheese from Saanen breed of goat. He had started business by registering the ‘Juna Goat Farm’ in 2070 BS.
Gurung has produced cheese from goat milk for the first time in the district at a time when other farmers in the district produce cheese from the milk of cow and buffalo. There are now 52 goats in his farm.
Of them, 16 goats give around 10 litres of milk every day and around one-and-half kilogrammes of cheese is produced from it.
“I have been selling cheese produced here at big hotels in Pokhara. It is sold at Rs 2,000 per kg in the market,” Gurung shared. Though he had faced some problems in the beginning, in recent period he has been earning up to Rs 300,000 each month after selling cheese.
Gurung mentioned, “There is a high demand of cheese produced from goat milk. I am planning to add the number of goats in order to meet the demand of cheese.”
He learned the skill of making cheese from goat’s milk in Bandipur, Tanahun. He mentioned that he began to produce cheese of goat milk commercially at home by practicing the skills he had learned there. He added that work is underway to enhance the quality of the currently produced items, improve packaging, and do branding.
Gurung, who had been working in the wiring profession in India in the past, returned home with the idea of pursuing a different business than others. With that thinking, he started goat farming 12 years back with 12 goats.
“I had invested Rs 350,000 for purchasing goats and shed construction. I had progressed by joining the model goat village campaign for the youth, and I am currently earning from the initial investment made this month,” he shared.
The chairperson of the Model Goat Village Campaign, Sushil Aryal said that the work Gurung is carrying out is different and exemplary for other youths as well.
“If we work with the ‘out of the box’ thinking, there is plenty of potential in Nepal. Many people are not even aware that goat milk can be utilized, but he has been doing well by learning the methods of its use through our campaign,” he said.
