The return trip to the UK was all my wife Judith and I had hoped it would be. Time to spend with our kids and grandkids, say thanks to all the friends who had kept in touch during the past year and chill out in our Somerset home. And we’ve left it all behind again to continue our Nepali experience for another year, and Judith and I are raring to go. I couldn’t be here without your support and kind messages, so thank you so much. It’s been such a source of motivation throughout the tough months since the devasting earthquakes.
Why am I here?
Whilst I was at home I spent a lot of my time trying to explain to friends and family what I have been doing for the last year out in Nepal, and what my plans were on my return. But I really struggled to find an answer that didn’t seem superficial, disrespectful to Nepali people and the real problems they face. Everyone had an image in their head of Nepal; a nation wracked with earthquake devastation, when this wonderful country is so much more than that. I want to use this blog to really explain how important my VSO placement is for Nepal at this critical time.
Some of the local dairy farming cooperative
Nepal is a land of farmers. Unlike the UK where 2% of the population are engaged in farming, here it is nearer 80%. That 80% of the population aim to use farming to provide food for the family, and perhaps when times are good there will be a very small surplus to sell for cash. This situation has driven much of the Nepali youth and men abroad in search of ‘cash’ to support their families back home.
But over recent decades, as society has become more urban, there has been a rapid rise in the demand for meat and dairy products. Yes, I am aware of the debates around this phenomenon in terms of environmental damage. Although I cannot alter these inevitable cultural trends, I can make small changes to make sure this type of animal farming becomes more beneficial for both the farmers of Nepal who desperately need a bigger income, and for the environment.
For every Nepali, there’s two buffalo
As Nepal is a Hindu country, all cows are sacred and therefore cannot be touched for their milk, or killed to be eaten. Despite this, milk production goes on all over Nepal, but this all comes from buffalos instead. In each small village most of the milk is sold locally. However, around 20% of Nepal’s milk finds its way to more urbanised markets, with tens of thousands of small holder farmers each taking a few litres to a milk collection centre where it is taken to a milk chilling centre. From there it is then taken to processors in bigger cities.
I’m working on a new project called Samarth, where I and a small Nepali team work on the raw milk supply chain. Our involvement ends at the point at which the milk leaves the chilling centre. The aim is to develop a system of good manufacturing practice which gives solutions to shortcomings we found to improve milk quality. Ultimately our aim is to help the dairy farmers provide for their families, and bring home more money to support them for the future.
Waiting to leave milk at a collection centre from where it will be moved to a chilling centre. Chilling afternoon milk to below 5 degrees can currently take 16 hours!
Steps for the future
We’ve already identified several issues; milk cleanliness and the difficulty of chilling the milk quickly enough when it arrives in the hot afternoon sun.
Currently milk in shops has a shelf life of only one day, and is produced in a system riddled with high levels of wastage. I guess improving these problems may not seem like the most interesting development programme. But there’s a much bigger picture behind this; we can make a more secure source of income for thousands of small holder farming families, often headed by women. We can also create a system of training that can pass down ‘knowledge’ to these farmers that will help them produce better quality milk at a much lower cost.
This milk producer shows us the book she brings to the collection centre to record her milk sales. Our aim is to make sure that book gets filled in even quicker.
Better milk means better futures
Thanks to your support, I am able to come back to Nepal and offer these small holder farming families a way to escape the poverty they are currently in. The money generated from the improvement in the milk chain means many more life chances for these rural families; the chance for both men and women to support their children through education and provide a healthier future. Now if that isn’t a motivation to keep going I don’t know what is.
I look forward to updating you soon as our plans progress to improve the prospects for farmers and their families. In the meantime thank you once again for following my journey in VSO; I couldn’t do this without you.
Best wishes,
Simon Hill
