When Jyoti Padma’s toddler daughter was recognized with lactose intolerance, it set her on an sudden path that may revolutionise city entry to pure milk by means of a singular mannequin — ‘Cow Foreign money’.
“I used to be astonished when my toddler daughter was recognized with lactose intolerance. None of our members of the family have it, which piqued my curiosity on how this might have occurred,” Jyoti tells The Higher India.
Decided to offer her daughter with important vitamins, Jyoti explored varied milk manufacturers and domestically sourced choices. Nevertheless, her baby’s physique rejected each try. A breakthrough got here in 2018 when her sister from Lucknow despatched milk from her farm. To Jyoti’s shock, her daughter digested it with none difficulty.
This was a pivotal revelation for Jyoti. She had been looking for the reason for her daughter’s struggles, solely to understand that the issue had been the milk all alongside! “Packaged and processed milk is a nasty choice for her,” she says.
Nevertheless, even native dairy farms fell brief resulting from hygiene points or subpar feed given to cows. Resolving to discover a resolution, Jyoti, a textile engineering graduate, launched into a self-learning journey. “I don’t have a farming background. All that I’ve carried out is thru trial-and-error and self-learning,” she remembers.
Jyoti arrange her first farm in Lucknow with 15 mixed-breed cows, together with Jerseys and Sahiwals. Nevertheless, her restricted information of cow diet affected the standard of the milk. After relocating to Thane, Jyoti recognized a urgent want for pure A2 cow milk in city areas. “I grew up in Uttar Pradesh, the place getting recent milk was by no means a fear. When my daughter wanted pure milk right here, I realised it’s a necessity, not a luxurious,” she explains.
As per a analysis research revealed within the Nationwide Library of Drugs, A2 milk — milk that solely comprises a variant of beta-casein known as A2 — has on a number of events proved to be a beacon of hope for lactose illiberal folks. The distinction in protein between the A2 and A1 varieties makes the previous a extra simply digestible choice.
A holistic strategy to dairy farming
In 2019, Jyoti established Sree Balkrishna Dairy Farm (BKD Milk) on two acres of leased land on the outskirts of Maharashtra. Together with her husband’s help, she envisioned a farm the place cows would roam freely, nourished by natural feed like 5G Napier grass, wheatgrass, and millets. The main focus was clear: to supply A2 milk, free from adulteration and dangerous chemical substances.
A powerful advocate for moral and humane farming practices, Jyoti insists readily available milking, making certain that the milk reaches shoppers’ properties inside hours.
“Sure farmers inject an injection price Rs 20 to the cow, which impacts the nervous system, inflicting the cow to supply milk for 48 hours straight,” Jyoti explains. “This, in flip, causes dangerous well being points for shoppers, probing early modifications like puberty method forward of time. At BKD Milk, we prioritise the well-being of our cows and the purity of our milk.”
At this time, BKD Milk serves over 200 prospects day by day, and Jyoti’s modern strategy to dairy farming has garnered vital consideration. Her dedication to high quality, sustainability, and moral practices is inspiring a brand new era of farmers and shoppers alike.
“There’s no machine intervention on this course of,” Jyoti proudly shares. At this time, the farm serves over 200 prospects day by day and generates an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore.
Introducing Cow Foreign money
Constructing on the success of BKD Milk, Jyoti and Parikshit Sampal Sai, a farming fanatic who goals to make agriculture an organised sector, launched Cow Foreign money — an modern enterprise designed for city households eager for pure dairy merchandise. The mannequin permits shoppers to personal a cow with out managing its day by day care.
Parikshit has carried out round 29 pilot tasks up to now, specializing in technological intervention in agriculture, ‘Pranam Kisan’ being certainly one of his notable works. He had give you the thought of such a mannequin and had been planning to implement it since 2017.
“Jyoti’s husband is my pal and once I acquired to know she had established a dairy farm, I wished to utilize the chance. When Jyoti was as nicely, I used to be comfortable,” says Parikshit. After considering for a very long time, the duo determined to get entangled with Cow Foreign money.
“I personally consider a girl can present the precise steering for a enterprise enterprise. Ladies are Lakshmi for me. And for Cow Foreign money, it’s Jyoti,” he says.
For an preliminary funding of Rs 1,08,000, prospects personal a cow for 3 years. The farm takes full duty for the cow’s upkeep, feeding, and healthcare. In return, prospects obtain two litres of recent A2 milk day by day and two kilograms of ghee each month, delivered to their properties. “Even when a buyer is in a unique state, we courier the ghee, and the milk expense is credited to their account,” shares Jyoti.
Regardless of a cow’s pure four-month dry interval annually, Cow Foreign money ensures an uninterrupted milk provide by pooling sources from a number of cows. “This makes the mannequin inexpensive, with milk costing simply Rs 45 per litre,” explains Parikshit. After three years, prospects additionally obtain Rs 22,000 as an end-of-term payout, encouraging long-term participation.
The purchasers are supplied with a correct breed certificates of the cow and its genetic dad and mom to make sure the purity of the breed. In actual fact, prospects are welcome to fulfill their pet cow at any time when they want. “I used to be in a position to play with Radha on the farm, and the sensation of proudly owning a cow is one thing unexplainable,” shares Easy H Singh, a resident of Pune.
Fulfilling city wants
For patrons like Puspanjali Dutta, the ‘Cow Foreign money’ mannequin rekindles childhood recollections. “I missed ingesting pure cow’s milk after transferring to the town,” she says, including, “Now, I’ve the satisfaction of ingesting milk from my very own cow, which I’ve named Rivan.”
“Individuals in city cities shouldn’t have the time or house to look after the cow. This mannequin fulfils that in the easiest way doable,” Puspanjali shares.
Easy, who has Celiac illness, highlights the product’s well being advantages. “Packaged milk all the time causes allergic reactions for me. However for the previous six months, I’ve had no points with their milk,” she says.
Moral therapy of cows is on the coronary heart of Cow Foreign money’s philosophy. “Cows are sometimes deserted or despatched to slaughterhouses after they cease producing milk. We guarantee each cow has a secure and respectful life past its milking interval,” Parikshit, who has over 18 years of farming expertise, explains.
In its pilot part, Cow Foreign money operates with 25 workers members per farm and already serves over 70 glad prospects. The duo plans to develop to 75 farms throughout India, enabling extra folks to reconnect with moral, high-quality dairy merchandise.
Jyoti’s journey from a involved mom to a profitable entrepreneur is a testomony to her unwavering dedication to high quality and sustainability. Her ventures not solely meet the rising demand for pure dairy merchandise but in addition champion moral farming practices. As she proudly states, “We attempt to make sure our cows are comfortable and wholesome, and our prospects really feel linked to the supply of their meals.”
“Actual wealth is proudly owning a cow,” Parikshit concludes.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All photos courtesy Jyoti and Parikshit
