'Glow and lovely': 3 techies set up first donkey farm in Andhra to supply milk to cosmetic industry

Rajahmahendravaram: Stuck at home due to the lockdown, three techies, Kiran Kumar, Navya, and Ramana, from Mallampudi in Rajahmundry decided to set up a donkey farm after reading about the health benefits of their milk.

Eight months on, 'Akshaya Donkey Farms' has become the first facility to supply donkey milk in both Telugu states. Currently, the farm has 120 donkeys of Halari, Katwadi, Ethiopian, and other local breeds. They produce 35-40 liters per day.

This all happened after the software engineer Kiran Kumar's son was affected with Asthma. Many locals in his village advised him to get Donkey milk, which has many health benefits. He somehow managed to get donkey milk and was surprised to see that one liter costs Rs 6,000. "I along with my friends Navya and Ramana, thought of starting a donkey farm, which would actually give good profits based on the situation prevailing in the country. We gave a detailed study with the help of scientists and got trained in handling donkeys and milk production," said Kiran Kumar.

According to Kiran, during their study, the donkey population has declined from 3 lakh to 1.25 lakh in recent years. In many cases, donkeys are being slaughtered for meat. With different breeds of donkeys on the farm, Alari gives 750 ml to 1 liter, Katwadi gives 1.25 to 1.5 liters, Ethiopian gives 2 liters, and the local breed gives 250 ml milk per day.

"We have purchased donkeys from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Africa. We have installed all equipment for donkey milk preservation. Donkey milk has a long history of medicinal and cosmetic uses. We are selling the milk to Hyderabad and Bangalore mostly for use in cosmetics (soap, creams), for beauty purposes (facial)", said Navya, an IIT student.

The farm also supplies donkey milk to cure Asthma and Obesity. As they do not get orders daily, they had set up equipment to preserve milk in bottles with the dates mentioned.

Donkey urine for alcohol addicts

People are buying not just milk but donkey urine as well. People from Madya Pradesh, Maharashtra, use urine in products that can help alcohol addicts quit drinking.

Future goals:

While the team sells 1 liter of donkey milk for Rs 6000-7000, they have been getting orders for milk in small quantities from the locals and neighborhood districts, especially for their children. "We plan to come up with selling donkey milk in tetra packs in small quantities. As of now, we are testing preserving milk in tetra packs, and after getting the required permission, the milk will be available in small packs", said Kiran.

Further, the team plans to set up two more farms in other states.