Welcome to Sadri city within the Pali district of Rajasthan. Sightings of males wearing white angrakhas (a tunic-like costume) full with vibrant turbans (most frequently crimson) that shelter their heads from the blazing warmth will dot your go to.
These are members of the Raika neighborhood.
The pastoral neighborhood has been herding camels for hundreds of years. What distinguishes them, other than their apparel, is that they by no means journey solo. Inside metres, you’ll spot their closest pals — distinguished by a hump, lengthy lashes, bushy eyebrows, and thick pursed lips.
Stately creatures, the camels appear content material. The darkening sky and the spring of their step recommend an extended day of grazing on thistles (the remnants within the fields following harvest) is now full. Having watched and carefully engaged with the camels for over three many years now, Germany’s Dr Ilse Köhler-Rollefson has an excellent measure of an knowledgeable opinion on camel behaviour.
She factors out that thistles whereas forming a bulk of the camel’s diet, aren’t the one vegetation they feed on. And that is backed by strong reasoning.
The co-founder of Camel Charisma goes on, “In response to conventional information, camels eat 36 completely different vegetation.” The inexperienced range boosts milk manufacturing and high quality, she factors out. Contemplating that dairy is the prime occupation of the Raika neighborhood, milk high quality is significant.
It’s of essence to notice that solely within the latest previous has dairy emerged as a spotlight business for the neighborhood. If the humped creatures might converse, they’d inform of how their ancestors loved a unique set of privileges.
Come November, their predecessors have been decked in finery and embroidered cloths as they made their strategy to the Pushkar Mela — an annual multi-day livestock truthful courting again to the nineteenth century. Right here, they have been traded as modes of transport in trade for good-looking sums of cash to the tune of lakhs.
Reminiscing about these occasions, Karan Ram, one of many members of the Raika neighborhood, who typically accompanied his household to those occasions, shares, “We [the Raika community] would earn rather a lot via the mela (city truthful). In truth, we used to make more cash in that one month than we’d all 12 months,” he smiles.
However in 2014, issues modified.
The Authorities took cognisance of the camel’s declining inhabitants within the state of Rajasthan — a 54 p.c plummet in numbers between the years 1998 and 2012 (based on an article in Down To Earth). In response to this, the camel was declared the state animal of Rajasthan.
This was adopted by the Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Non permanent Migration or Export) Act (2015) which banned the slaughter, buying and selling, and unauthorised transportation of camels within the state.
Regardless of being excellent news for the camels, it impaired the supply of livelihood of the Raika neighborhood. Within the years that adopted, the Pushkar Mela lay abandoned.
Karan was one amongst many in his neighborhood who spent years navigating the perils of the consequences of the order. Fear clouded his youth. However in the present day, as he speaks to The Higher India, there is no such thing as a hint of doubt. Karan boasts that he has 40 camels and is seeking to broaden his herd.
So, what modified on this final decade to make Karan a proud pastoral? He responds, “I got here to find out about Camel Charisma.”
The social enterprise co-founded by Dr Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and Hanwant Singh Rathore, goals to develop, promote and market environment-friendly merchandise sourced from the camel. Rathore can be the founding father of Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan (LPPS), which works to preserve camels within the state.
A story of two cities
I used to be intrigued by how a PhD scholar in veterinary drugs from Germany solid a friendship with a Rajasthani native, and the way very quickly, the 2 dived into entrepreneurial waters. I urge Dr Ilse to relate the story. And she or he takes me again to 1991.
In India for a fellowship, Dr Ilse couldn’t chorus from assembly with the Raika neighborhood. “India had the third-largest inhabitants of camels on the time,” she explains her choice. And so, she got down to enterprise into the Pali district of Rajasthan.
Her taxi driver — a gentleman named Hanwant Singh Rathore — appeared significantly chatty. As Dr Ilse found, not solely was Rathore nicely versed with the area’s (convoluted) historical past with camels, but in addition fluent within the native dialect. He would make for a fantastic firm, she thought.
Quickly, a taxi dialog blossomed right into a friendship, and earlier than the duo knew it, they have been taking a leap of religion — Dr Ilse determined to increase her keep in India (it’s been 33 years) whereas Rathore determined to stop his chauffeur enterprise.
For the reason that likelihood assembly, the duo have been charting a map for the preservation of camel numbers, stoking relations with the Raika neighborhood to achieve their belief, and championing change via new dairy fashions. In truth, Camel Charisma is credited with establishing Rajasthan’s first devoted camel dairy ‘Kumbalgarh’ Camel Dairy in 2019.
The attract of camel milk
In 2020, through the COVID-induced lockdown, the Occasions of India lined a narrative a few lady who took to ‘X’ (previously often called Twitter) to enchantment for assist in sourcing camel milk from Rajasthan. The milk, as she defined, was for her 3.5-year-old baby who had autism and survived on a weight-reduction plan of camel milk and pulses.
This story sheds mild on a query: Is camel milk efficient for autism?
Analysis papers agree, including that it’s not simply autism that the milk helps with however a host of medical circumstances. In response to a 2021 paper printed within the Nationwide Library of Drugs, camel milk might play an vital function in reducing oxidative stress by altering antioxidant enzymes. The paper postulated that this in flip might enhance autistic behaviour.
One other analysis paper printed that very same 12 months explored the dietary and medicinal advantages of camel’s milk. It revealed that the milk’s abundance in bioactive peptides, lactoferrin, zinc, and mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids might assist in circumstances like tuberculosis, bronchial asthma, gastrointestinal ailments, and jaundice.
In the meantime, a 2011 research by R P Agrawal, head of the Diabetes Care and Analysis Centre at S P Medical Faculty, Bikaner, discovered that by ingesting camel milk for a protracted time frame, sufferers affected by Sort 1 diabetes can scale back their insulin dependence by 60 to 70 p.c.
For years, camel milk has been touted as ‘good’ for stunted youngsters, nursing girls, and anaemic girls; Dr Ilse seconds these claims. The extra she furthered her analysis into the subjects, the extra she was satisfied that camel milk might be a boon for public well being. However when she relayed her findings to the Raika neighborhood, they wouldn’t have it.
Breaking down the taboo that has bordered the sale of camel milk, Rathore makes us aware of a dialog he had with one of many members. “He [the herdsman] stated it was nearly like being requested to promote their youngsters,” Rathore shares. It took years of conferences, and talks with the neighborhood clergymen and elders to encourage them to heed the recommendation to show to camel for dairy.
Simply when the neighborhood was starting to belief them, a 1999 order by the Rajasthan Excessive Courtroom famous that camel milk wasn’t good for human consumption. Led by Rathore, a group appealed to the Supreme Courtroom and the order was quickly overruled. However Rathore didn’t cease there. He stored persisting till in 2016, camel milk was recognised as a meals product by the Meals Security and Requirements Authority of India (FSSAI).
In 2019 got here an inflection level when Dr Ilse and Rathore’s work transcended advocacy and veered into empowerment. This had huge implications for the Raika neighborhood.
Take Karan for example. Now incomes a steady revenue of Rs 25,000 a month via the sale of camel milk, he’s thrilled. “I keep in mind a time when individuals would name camel’s milk ineffective. Now it has develop into standard due to Hanwant ji,” he shares.
Karan is among the many dozen dairy farmers being empowered by Camel Charisma. What is exclusive about their mannequin is that it’s cruelty-free and borrows from conventional information of the Raika neighborhood.
“We don’t observe the economic mannequin of camel milk manufacturing the place camels are stall-fed to maximise the manufacturing,” Dr Ilse explains. “The neighborhood believes that camels want to maneuver to be glad and wholesome; they should have dietary selections of timber from which they want to nibble. In distinction to industrial dairy enterprises, we don’t separate the mom from the calves.”
Whereas Camel Charisma is a drive to reckon with in the present day, the journey hasn’t been with out its challenges. “I keep in mind the primary order we had for camel milk,” Dr Ilse smiles. “We have been questioning easy methods to bundle and transport it and got here up with the idea of 200 ml bottles. We froze the milk and despatched it out frozen. It took some experimentation to get the approach proper.”
Regardless of having perfected the approach, she notes that the remoteness of the situation has hindered gross sales. However issues are bettering. Camel Charisma has managed to develop into a house identify and clocks month-to-month gross sales of over 3,000 litres of camel milk throughout India.
The duo credit the success to the high quality of the milk — pure and pure. In truth, they clarify that the fats and water content material are usually not standardised and fluctuate based on the season: through the summer time its water content material is increased, whereas in winter fats content material will increase.
Each herder must be registered and have a well being certificates. The latter is offered by the Division of Animal Husbandry of the Authorities of Rajasthan.
Whereas the dairy is one arm of Camel Charisma, a cheese-making unit churns out scrumptious feta that finds followers in friends on the Lake Palace, Udaipur. The wool-making unit turns wool into fibres which might be spun into dhurries (rugs). In the meantime, the paper-making unit produces paper from the dung of Kumbhalgarh camels.
These items work in tandem to fabricate merchandise, that, as soon as exit into the world, empower the Raika neighborhood. And standing proud at their creation are Dr Ilse and Rathore.
As we attain the tip of the story, one other day is winding down in Rajasthan. Jhimpri, Raathi, and Dhooli are making their means residence led by their grasp and buddy — Karan. With time, their [the camels’] life have modified. Now, they don’t head to melas to be traded however as a substitute to secure areas, the place they’re cared for.
As one among the many herd nuzzles Karan, one factor is evident — the bond between the camels and the Raikas is timeless.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
Sources:
Dietary, antimicrobial and medicinal properties of Camel’s milk: A assessment by NCBI, Printed in February 2021.
Camel Milk as a Potential Remedy as an Antioxidant in Autism Spectrum Dysfunction (ASD) by Nationwide Library of Drugs, Printed on 29 August 2013.
Can monetising camel merchandise revive Rajasthan’s state animal? by Arnab Pratim Dutta and Meenakshi Sushma, Printed on 30 April 2019.
