An elevated village nestled
in Arunachal Pradesh, renowned for its 1962 war memorial, has introduced an
innovative dairy parlour dedicated to milk from a remarkable bovine creature
often referred to as the ‘ship of the Himalayas.’ Travelers enroute to Tawang
invariably pause at the Nyukmadung War Memorial to pay their respects to the Bhartiya soldiers who valiantly battled Chinese aggressors in the vicinity on
November 18, 1962. The central monument is a 25-foot-tall chorten, a Buddhist
shrine, in keeping with local customs and traditions.
Situated at approximately 2,800 meters above sea level, this
village now proudly houses the Nyukmadung Dairy, located on the premises of the
Indian Council for Agricultural Research-National Research Centre on Yak, or
NRC-Y. The farm is situated about 25 km from Dirang, where the yak research
center is located.
“The dairy, complete with a parlour, was
inaugurated on September 15th with the aim of enhancing the profitability of
yak farming by popularizing yak milk and its various derivatives, including
designer paneer, ghee, curd, ripened cheese, and mozzarella cheese,”
stated Mihir Sarkar, Director of the NRC-Y. The inauguration ceremony was
officiated by S.P. Kimothi, a member of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment
Board based in New Delhi.
The yak (Poephagus grunniens) is the lifeline of
highland ethnic communities residing in the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan
regions, where conditions are unsuitable for most types of agricultural
activities. This animal sustains the livelihoods of these highlanders by providing
milk, meat, fiber, hide, and dung, in addition to serving as a means of
transportation.
Yak milk and its products are fundamental
components of the diet of these highland communities, who endure an extremely
hypoxic and harsh environment without the benefit of vitamin and mineral
supplements, according to NRC-Y scientists.
Yak milk is characterized by its creamy white
color, thickness, sweetness, fragrance, and higher content of protein, fat,
lactose, minerals, and total solids compared to cow milk. It contains
15.63-19.63% total solids, with 5.29-8.73% fat, 3.45-4.27% protein, and
0.64-0.82% ash. In essence, yak milk is regarded as naturally concentrated
milk, enriched with a greater nutrient density and abundant in omega-3 fatty
acids, amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
While raw yak milk is scarcely accessible for
direct consumption due to the remote habitat of yak rearing, most of it is
processed into traditional products such as chhurpi (soft cheese), churkham
(hard cheese), and mar (butter). A small portion of raw milk is reserved for
making butter tea for the communities’ personal use, with a small surplus
available for sale.
The NRC-Y has been diligently working on
diversification and value addition to render yak milk and its products suitable
for commercial production. Their initiatives encompass hands-on training and
capacity-building programs designed for tribal yak farmers.
