The back-breaking labour at a dairy farm can leave anyone exhausted. But the rewards at the Holehoddu dairy farm of Naravi near Mangaluru in Karnataka, are abundant, Jayaprakash writes in his thesis in Kannada.
Jayaprakash was a trainee at this farm, the brainchild of 59-year-old organic dairy farmer Holehoddu Ratnakar Rao. Here, submission of thesis not only marks the end of the year-long apprenticeship, but also makes the apprentice eligible for a certificate in dairy farming and seed money of `50,000.
Rao took the novel initiative with an objective to make inexperienced youth employable. He has trained five youngsters, including Sumanth and Jayaprakash, to date. Sumanth, who took up a summer job at the farm after his SSLC exams, has been working here part-time. He has also completed his industrial training from Venoor without burdening his poor parents.
Rao’s efforts come as a starter to wean away the youth from wrongful employment in Naravi and 10 other villages of Belthangady Taluk that were declared Naxalite-affected.
Nestling on the fringe of the Western Ghats, Naravi is blessed with nature’s bounty. Yet the area remains backward with the youth not having much to do.
“Sons of farmers with small land-holdings ignore self-employment opportunities in animal husbandry and agriculture, and end up as waiters at bars in Mangaluru or Mumbai,” he says.
Three years ago, he published advertisements in Kannada newspapers, offering free food, boarding, and training in dairy farming, besides seed money. Two boys from Kodagu district came to work. During the apprenticeship, they were not allowed to visit their homes (lest they will never return).
Rao also does not encourage parents visiting the dairy. But he ensures that the trainees have their quota of entertainment by taking them to village fairs at weekends.
A first-generation entrepreneur, Rao bucked the trend of setting up his dairy unit and selling milk to co-operative societies in 1985. A half-litre sachet of unpasteurised organic milk sold under the name Govardhana fetches him `38. The dairy can produce 20 packets a minute. Over 40 per cent of the 500-litre milk sold a day is procured from other farmers, who get nutrient-rich feed made at the farm in return.
Jayaprakash’s thesis says, “The cleaning of cowshed begins at 4.30 am. The cowdung spread on the rubber mat is dumped into two 15-foot deep gobar-gas tanks. The water from cleaning cows is diverted to a slurry pit from where it is fed to the eight-acre arecanut farm. Before milking, all 15 cows get a gentle massage and nutrient-rich organic food. The milk collected is taken in cans to the adjacent dairy where it is packed. The work is stopped for lunch and continues after a brief rest. At 3.30 pm, the cows are milked again.”
A few weeks ago, Rao had a well-dressed visitor, who turned out to be the same Jayaprakash. He now works as a corporate honcho’s driver in Mumbai.
Rao says he made thesis mandatory to ascertain how much the students have grasped in his classes.