Our objective is to increase the value of local milk. This is the most efficient way to improve the living standards of local farmers. Therefore the association Pro Milk Mali follows for all projects a long-term approach, which is based on sustainable and eco-nomic principles and triggers the participant’s own initiative.
Completed Projects
Buy a Cow in Mali
The association Pro Milk Mali started the project “Buy a cow in Mali” in 2007. The small-scale dairy DJOM KOSSAM expanded its business and started to collect milk in villages. The collection of milk created a new market for fresh milk and reliable in-come for farmers who could produce enough milk. However, farmers who could not produce milk above their family consumption could not benefit from the new market conditions. The association Pro Milk Mali had the objective to provide those farmers access to the new dairy market and initiated the project “buy a cow in Mali”. The conditions for the farmers were that they had to keep the cows well and sell the produced milk to DJOM KOSSAM.
The project was very successful and over 90 cows got sponsored. However, we paid for our own success. We simply didn’t have the resourced to supervise all farmers. We therefore had to stop the project in 2010.
We re-launched the project “Buy a cow in Mali” as a part of the project “Help DJOM KOSSAM to build an own farm” in 2014.
Selected Support for DJOM KOSSAM
One of our objectives is to increase the value of local milk. Local milk is produced in rural areas and highest demand is in the capital Bamako. The association Pro Milk Mali supports the small-scale dairy DJOM KOSSAM to build and expand the neces-sary infrastructure to collect milk in rural areas, transform milk according to hygienic standards, transport it to Bamako, and sell it in the capital. DJOM KOSSAM runs today a successful operative business but still needs selected support for replacement or new investments.
Pro Milk Mali helped for example to replace the engine of a motorbike or to exchange the batteries of the solar fridge.
Current Projects
Help DJOM KOSSAM to build an own farm
The association Pro Milk Mali is helping DJOM KOSSAM to build an own farm. With an own farm cows can be kept on-site. Keeping cows on-site reduces the energy the cows spend to walk to feeding places and increases the production of milk per cow[1]Extensive farming is generally practiced in Mali. This means that according to nomadic traditions livestock is walked for long distances to feed. The long walking distances and limited availability of feed and water sources (during the dry season) keep the production of milk low. This will not be the case if cows are kept on-site in an own farm..
The objective of this project is to build a test farm with crossbreeds of local and oversea breeds. The farm will include a shelter for cows, feeding and drinking places, a drinking well, and a silo. Furthermore machines to hackle the silo feed and to press hay balls will be purchased.
We would be glad if you would support us with a donation to construct this farm. The silo for example will cost CHF 2’000, the drew well CHF 1’000, the machine to press hay balls CHF 500, artificial insemination of a cow CHF 80, or a cow of a good crossbreed CHF 1’500.
Future Projects
The big objective is that DJOM KOSSAM becomes a real dairy, which generates a sustainable profit and continuously can grow its business.
We therefore plan continuously new projects. Please contact us if you are interested in a particular project. We are looking forward to discussing with you more details.
Fussnoten
| ↑1 | Extensive farming is generally practiced in Mali. This means that according to nomadic traditions livestock is walked for long distances to feed. The long walking distances and limited availability of feed and water sources (during the dry season) keep the production of milk low. This will not be the case if cows are kept on-site in an own farm. |
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