Striking White Gold! How a Himalayan village found a steady source of income in a basic commodity

Once plagued by the phenomenon of emigration, Rautu ki Beli, a hill village in Uttarakhand, now witnesses its natives returning and making the village their home once again. A major factor behind this homecoming is the livelihood opportunity in the cottage cheese enterprise,Rakesh Agrawal narrates.

- Rakesh Agrawal

The blue eastern sky behind the edgy hills was turning crimson red and the sun would be out soon. "Jaldi karo, behna (hurry up, sister)," Gita Devi Rawat was in a big hurry, calling her friend and neighbour, Uma Devi Rautela. They were in a sparse forest, adjacent to their village, Rautu ki Beli in Tehri district of Uttarakhand. After collecting two basketfuls of soft banj (oak) leaves and fresh grass, they heaved a sigh of relief, "Hamari bhainse achha doodh dengi aaj (our buffaloes would yield a good amount of milk today), Gita said happily. "And we would make at least two kilograms of paneer (cottage cheese) from it," added Uma.

The friends hurriedly reached their homes, built with stone and wood, in traditional Garhwali style. The cowshed was just outside their homes, where they would put the fodder in two big pans and add a tin of milk and fat booster, aimed at increasing milk production and energy in cattle.

After milking the buffaloes, they started the process of turning milk into paneer. “We boil milk on our chulhas (hearth) using jalawan ki lakadi (fuelwood), and then add nimboo ka ras (lemon juice) to it and strain it, using a big piece of cloth and then press it under a huge stone, the fire also keeps our homes warm,” described Rawat.

Why Cottage Cheese?