The Lothuen Om Detsen, a dairy farmers’ group at Chhoe-Khorling village in Sarpang is thriving after it was established around 5 years ago. The group’s production unit has not only addressed the dairy needs of the community but has also become a ready market for the farmers. The group has over a hundred members.
Residents no longer travel to Gelephu which is around 15 kilometers away from the production unit to buy dairy products. They instead buy them from the group’s processing plant.
Moreover, dairy products are also a little cheaper at the unit compared to the market rate.
Damber Singh Ghalley a resident of Chhoe-Khorling says they get fresh dairy products from the unit. “A kilogram of butter at 500 ngultrum is reasonable. If we travel to town, sometimes we don’t get. The route is also shorter here.”
Damanta Rimal who is from Chhoe-Khorling is the dairy group’s salesperson. She is a class twelve graduate and got employed at the production unit after her studies. She said the group collects around 120 liters of milk from the farmers everyday.
“We sell the products for the local residents and sometime we take them to Gelephu. Occasionally we face marketing issues,” she added.
Farmers are paid Nu. 45 for a litre of milk. Besides cheese and butter, the group also makes Panner and yogurt.
The Louthen Om Detshen’s processing unit was constructed at a cost of 2 million ngultrum. The Zhemgang and Sarpang district administrations funded the construction through the Rural Livelihood Project.
Karma Wangdi, Sarpang
Edited by Kipchu
