About five years ago, three college graduates of Dazur village at Tang Gewog in Bumthang returned back home to become entrepreneurs. They are the first three graduates to do so in the village. One of them is a shopkeeper, another a dairy farmer and the third runs a poultry farm. And all of them are faring well. This is a story about the two of them who are involved in animal husbandry.
Kinley Drukpa, 29, worked as a contract teacher for six months after graduating from the Language and Culture Studies College in Tagtse in 2016. He then returned home and started his poultry business two years ago. Today, he has over a thousand chickens laying over 800 eggs daily. This gives him a steady income of around Nu 4000 every day.
“Compared to government jobs, I prefer working on my own farm. There are more income-generating opportunities here. That’s why I returned home to be an entrepreneur. Nowadays, one can avail Cottage and Small Industries (CSI) loans at minimum interest rates which really helps young entrepreneurs like us set up our firms. With the youth unemployment rate still very high in the country and the pandemic situation forcing lots of people into unemployment, the livestock and agricultural farming has lots of potential in employing people,” said Kinley.
Just like Kinley, 30-year-old Thinley Tshering is running a dairy business. Thinley once went looking for jobs in Thimphu after his graduation. In the process, he founded Dr. Toilet, a toilet management enterprise with his friends. He also worked as a tour guide for three years before he returned home to venture into the dairy business.
“I grew up doing dairy farm works with my parents. After coming back from Thimphu to my village, being the sole breadwinner for the family, I obviously had to do something. So I have started dairy farming by bringing in new ideas. I have tried to improve the breed of my herd. Once you’re into farm works and start studying more about them, it gradually fosters your interest in them.”
Today, Thinley’s farm is a thriving enterprise. He earns around Nu 9000 a week. He does most of the chores himself. However, his work is not short of challenges.
“The challenge almost all the people who are into animal husbandries such as poultry, dairy and piggery are facing is that it takes a lot of time in processing loan and when it is finally released, we don’t get it on time which hampers our performance. Secondly, we have only one livestock officer here in Tang. It would benefit us if we have another veterinarian here.”
Despite the challenges, the aspirations of the young men are not dampened. The duo is committed to continue working on their farms and expand them. KinleyDrukpa plans to raise his flock to 10,000 chickens while Thinley Tshering has set his sights on commercial dairy farming if things go his way. With further support from relevant agencies, they will go a long way in becoming the torchbearers of a new generation of entrepreneurs and more so, farmers.
Kipchu, Bumthang.
