It is a beautiful, sunny morning, and we turn right on the highway and head towards Samariya Satra, a small, picturesque village in Kamrup district. After a 20 km ride varying from smooth roads to bumpy stretches, we reach a small, community building on a river bank. The clock has struck 12 pm, and a few locals are waiting eagerly. The reason? A health camp. For goats, organised by The Goat Trust.
Demystifying production technology, building institutions and promoting standard marketing and linkage across the globe are some of the key areas The Goat Trust works in, and a health camp is one important way to do that. It also becomes clear that for some locals, this is an unusual event. Minutes after the tables have been set, the chairs have been arranged and the posters have been hung, one senior citizen walks in, asking what medicines are available.
It is only after a conversation with Dr Salima Siddika, who works with the Assam chapter in The Goat Trust, that he realises that it is not a health camp for humans, rather, it is for goats. A few minutes later, the goats start arriving: in jute bags hung on a bicycle, in the arms of children, in e-rickshaws and on scooters. Most just walk in with their goats.
It becomes clear why locals were surprised at a ‘goat health checkup’. Laba Kumar Das, who has been rearing goats for decades and currently owns 9 goats, had never seen a camp like this before. “I have heard of health camps for animals, but never seen one for goats,” he said. “I work as a daily wage labourer and ideally, given my age, would like to stop so that I can rear goats and make enough money from goats to take care of my family. But my goats are currently not in the best shape, and as a result, they are not growing the way they are supposed to,” he added.
Das’ issues are shared by all who visit the camp over the next few hours. Almost none of the goats had received vaccination, and the few that did receive it did so infrequently. One person brought in a goat that looked one month old, but it was closer to 6 months old. The reason? Infections.
Another goat that came in could barely stand. Reason? It had been ill for almost three months and had lost significant weight. Barring five or six goats, almost all goats that arrived were underweight. One goat that Dr Iqbal, the vet expert of TGT, pointed out was suffering from a severe lack of blood and nutritional deficiency, as indicated by a near-white eye. Different cases were demonstrated to Pashu Sakhis in the health camp itself.
As per his statement, “We are trying to build the practical knowledge of the Pashu Sakhis via these health camps too so that they can serve more efficiently to the community.”’Another goat that came in could barely stand. Reason? It had been ill for almost three months and had lost significant weight. Barring five or six goats, almost all goats that arrived were underweight. One goat that Dr Iqbal, the vet expert of TGT, pointed out was suffering from a severe lack of blood and nutritional deficiency, as indicated by a near-white eye. Different cases were demonstrated to Pashu Sakhis in the health camp itself. As per his statement, “We are trying to build the practical knowledge of the Pashu Sakhis via these health camps too so that they can serve more efficiently to the community.”
The Goat Trust’s Pashu Sakhis: Helping hands, founding blocks
This checkup is not all about doctors telling locals what to do. In fact, the check-up is just one part of the initiative. Far more important, and contextual, is the role of the Pash Sakhis. Across the two tables laid out are food supplements, Neem Oil, oilcake-based immunity enhancers and even soaps made out of goat milk. All are made from scratch by these Pashu Sakhis. As Dr Iqbal and Dr Siddika administered medicines and gave consultation to the farmers, the Pashu Sakhis observed closely. After all, one of the mandates for the Pashu Sakhis is to ensure that they too can deliver these services and learn how to look for dangerous signs of sickness and lack of nutrition among the goats. For Monica Mahanta, one of the Pashu Sakhis, the past three months have been nothing short of life-transforming. “Take this soap for example,” she tells EastMojo. “Until we attended the workshop, we had no idea we could make soap with goat milk. But now, we have not only learnt the process, we have also started manufacturing them,” she adds.
While soaps are priced at Rs 40 and one might argue that the locals are unlikely to spend so much on a soap, there are other things that are more useful for the goat farmers. The food supplement, for example, is priced at Rs 4 per 100 grams making it both accessible and necessary for locals. “Yes, I will spend Rs 10 on two such packets if it ensures that my goats are healthy,” said Krishna Mahanta, a local. Similarly, the Neem Oil is very useful to avoid ticks and ensure that they have a healthy coat.
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The Goat Trust is also not looking at scaling everything immediately either. “The focus,” Dr. Siddika says, “will always be on ensuring sustainability. If we try to scale up operations right now, it will be wrong. First, we have to build a strong network of the Pashu Sakhis so that even if we do not have a health camp, the goat farmers are not worried about their animals. The Pashu Sakhis are not in this just to make money; they are here to ensure that no goat farmer suffers due to a lack of information or medicine. As you have seen, the locals are happy because this is the first time they have seen something like this. But we want this to become a regular affair. Scaling up of operations in terms of production and other things will happen in due course. For now, the focus is to help the Pashu Sakhis become independent rural women entrepreneurs who can then also ensure a strong ecosystem so that goat rearing is no longer seen as a side-business, but as a full-time job.”
Also Read: Can Rural Assam be a hub of goat production? The Goat Trust thinks so