Learn to milk a cow on a Wayanad holiday

The Malabar Rural Development Foundation (MRDF), a sister concern of the Malabar Milk Union, has come out with a package to sell its own success story by linking up with the growing tourism appeal of Wayanad. “The idea is to involve farmers having over 10 to 20 cows or those who run mini dairy farms in a milk circuit to be showcased to the tourists.
There are more than 1000 such dairies in the Malabar region,’’ Dr George Thomas, Coordinator, MRDF, said. The dairy tourism package will offer quality time with dairy farmers who will teach them how to milk and feed the cow as well as the nitty gritty of cooperative milk production and marketing.

Thomas points out that there has been a mad rush for rooms or homestays from tourists flocking to Wayanad from Karnataka on weekends and festive seasons. The foundation has tied up with a tour operator to manage the package which intends to mix leisure with village tourism.

Tourists will also be able to go fishing, have village cuisine like the popular tapioca and fish curry with the farmer’s family and experience the village temple festival.
This is besides the normal Wayanad tourism package comprising visit to the Edakkal caves, coffee and tea plantations, Muthanga wildlife sanctuary and guided trekking as well as boating in Pookkodu Lake. The launch of dairy tourism comes at a time when Kerala is experiencing a severe milk shortage which has not affected the Malabar region much. Malabar comprising six northern districts has been doing well in milk production. “Malabar had recorded a 10 to 12 per cent increase in milk production.

We have some excellent dairies which are worth showcasing even to a foreign crowd,’’ said Thomas. A visit to the state-of-the-art dairy plant at Chembra which is located near a peak will be worth remembering for the tourists.
DH News Service