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Dairy Farm

dairy farm

Ever since mankind became agrarian, the cow has been a symbol of peace and abundance the world over. From time immemorial she has been worshiped in India as the great giver. Even today, rural India counts on the five products she provides: milk, curd (for yogurt), ghee and butter, urine and dung. We are greatly appreciative of her sacred presence at CPT. The children adore our cows and are eager to take a major role in their care and feeding.

Two high quality H.F. (Holstein-Friesian) cows were purchased for The Children's Project in spring of 2009. The children christened them Ganga and Yamuna after the sacred rivers in India. They both arrived heavy with calf, and soon there were four in our new cowshed, forming a little herd: 3 females and 1 young male. In late 2009 we were gifted with two Jerseys - a mother and daughter. Another Jersey female, Saraswathi, was born in March 2010. Within the next four years CPT plans to operate a dairy consisting of 18 cows.

The H.F. cows produce close to 25 liters per day, providing milk, curd, butter and ice cream that more than fulfill the nutritional requirements for the school. The excess liters are sold to local farmers who appreciate the milk's high quality and purity. We look forward to having sufficient quantity for sale at the local dairy co-op. Our Awaken Café restaurant in Madikeri is as yet still a dream and probably won't open for another 2 years. When it does, it will also benefit by offering homemade ice cream and cheeses.

For food cows rely mostly on natural grasses, herbs and small shrubs that come directly from the ground through pasture grazing. However, during the hot and dry weather between monsoons there can be a dearth of lush green vegetation for the cows. Although we have access to pasture land, we decided that growing our own feed was the best solution. Last year we visited the Agricultural Department of India, located in Bangalore, and they kindly supplied us with a few different kinds of grass seeds that are specifically used for cow feeding.

Additional Benefits

Alternate uses for cow dung can be an interesting and beneficial side to dairy farming. We are in the process of developing biogas and other facilities for refining the dung. Cow dung produces natural gas which can be used for cooking through an inexpensive unit that stores and captures the gas. There are many such units in operation all over India and they are very efficient. CPT would use the cow dung to generate cooking gas, thereby saving about 2,500 rupees /month.

After the dung passes out of the gas unit, it is turned into high quality organic fertilizer. It is mixed with food waste and composted further, using worms to make "vermicompost". This vermicompost / cow manure / dried grass compost mixture will be absolutely sufficient to fertilize our coffee plantation and much more. This will save us thousands of rupees a month and allow our farms to remain organic. As we buy more land, the output will also be high enough to cover much of these areas as well, thereby saving more and making high quality organic coffee and vegetable production possible.

Cow urine is another beneficial by-product of the dairy farm. It is high in Nitrogen for fertilizer, and it is also a natural insecticide, which is being used with great success here in India. It will play a major role in keeping our plantations disease and pest free organically.

A Rural Education

As with all our vocational education enterprises, the dairy farm gives our children the chance to transform academic knowledge into practical experience. Hands on education with dairy cows may not seem useful to someone in North America or Europe, but in India, where cows are a regular feature of rural life and many villagers own at least 1 or 2 of their own cows, it is indispensable. As the years pass, a number of our children will complete their studies and go on to manage village schools. They will be equipped to teach dairy farming and the production of milk and other by-products from the cow, thereby improving the quality of life for both cows and villagers.

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