KENDRAPARA: Kalyani Rout (38) of Balanaadampur village in Kendrapara district would have ended up like millions of rural women who toil from dawn to dusk to make both ends meet had it not been for her entrepreneurial acumen.
Kalyani runs a successful milk cooperative society in the village which provides a steady flow of income to 140 families of Balanaadamapur and its nearby areas. Around 2,000 litres of milk is collected by the society from its members everyday. “The society was established in 2000 and has helped women dairy farmers to become financially independent”, she said.
Sabita Mallick (37), a member of the society, said the village women’s living condition has improved substantially. “We save `3,000 to `5,000 per month by selling milk to the cooperative society and it has helped us in meeting the higher education expenses of our children”, she added.
Madhabi Rout (30), another member of the society, said the milk cooperative society has turned around her fortune. Her colleague Anima Rout (43) hailed the society for triggering a white revolution in the village. She said a milk chilling centre established by the Government in 2010 has provided jobs to several villagers.
Sabitri Mallick, senior member of the society, said the chilling centre, which was set up at a cost of `10 lakh in 2010, has helped the society preserve milk and sell it to Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (OMFED). “Our milk is tested and we get the right price for our product”, she said. Sabitri said owing to systematic style of functioning, payment of the cooperative society members is never delayed.
Jharana Sahoo, a resident of the village, said earlier the milk producers of Balanaadamapur and its nearby areas used to sell milk for `10-`15 to middlemen who sold it at higher price in urban areas. “Now, the members earn `25 per litre by selling milk to the society”, she added