Our Work with the World Bank Nutrition Program - Village Champions!
Part of the work that we treasure most here at the dairy is our outreach work and helping new communities come on board with our programs. Today’s blog exemplifies why this approach works so well.
As part of our work on the World Bank nutrition program, running in Northern Laos through the Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF), we visit the local villages to undertake a three-stage approach to bring farmers into our milking program:
1) 1st village visit is to check the buffalo and build a milking area
2) 2nd visit is to plant grass to help feed the buffalo
3) Village Champions visit LBD to receive a 1-week course
And here is how this all happens, from our experience this year, at Homphan village. Read on to discover how and why everything did not go exactly to plan! And learn how COVID-19 has affected the way we were able to work with this community this year.
1) Homphan Village First Visit 18th-22nd February 2020 - Crush Construction and Buffalo Inspection
The initial visit to Homphan took place in February and the first of two main activities was to catch the buffalo and inspect them. Quite a bit of time was spent catching the buffalo! Ideally, villages construct a crush to make this an easy process. However, at Homphan, no crush was built prior to the visit, so the team needed to catch the buffalo and then tie them to whatever large object, i.e. tree etc, was available before doing the inspection.
Five Buffalo were checked in Homphan village. The buffalo received vaccinations and, where appropriate, an internal examination. Their calves received a worming treatment to help them stay healthy and strong. Four more buffalo in the village had just given birth, however, they were too difficult to catch and inspect. The farmers will catch these for our next visit.
Four of the five buffalo inspected were suitable to start milking and the other four were ready to join the milking program after 3 weeks if another inspection could take place.
(Unfortunately, due to the lockdown to halt the spread of COVID-19 the opportunity to undertake the follow-up inspection in April could not happen, but it will re-start in October. Watch this space!
The second main activity of the visit was the construction of the crush, calf and buffalo enclosure. The majority of this work was complete and only a few additional instructions were left with the farmers to finish the enclosure. Next time catching the buffalo will be a lot easier!
Follow Up
After each visit, the team creates a summary of points to follow-up on. For example, in this case it was the following three items:
Communicate with farmers to help with any queries to finish the enclosure.
As four buffalo can commence milking now need to train participating farmers on how to milk the buffalo and cook the milk properly.
Set a time for participating villages to visit LBD for a 1-day training and identify two village champions to remain for the intensive 1-week course.
2) Homphan Village Second Visit 24th– 27thMay - Planting Forage to help feed the Buffalo
We were able to return to Homphan in late May to deliver a four-day training on planting forage to help feed the buffalo. At the farm, we have been trialing a mix of grasses that work well in the tropical climate and are nutritious for the buffalo.
On the first day of training, six farmers (part of the milking program) attended practical training on how to collect, plant & maintain Napier Grass:
● How much to water it (including during the first three weeks after planting if there is no rain)
● How to identify when the grass is ready to cut. (The 1st cut generally is after 8-12 weeks and subsequent cuts happen every 6-8 weeks).
The method we use involves planting locally collected Napier Grass stems (90%) and Super Napier Grass stems (10%), provided by LBD, together.
On the second day, three farmers (other farmers had to plant their rice fields) attended practical training on collecting, planting & maintaining Mulberry & Leucaena. The focus here is on helping farmers understand the importance of high protein food for buffalo to keep them healthy and strong.
● Leuceana needs water & care to ensure it establishes well. After 8-12 months it can be cut. Once established subsequent cuts are approximately every 12 weeks. This plant is drought resistant once established and high in protein so provides good forage. It also locks nitrogen into the soil!
● Mulberry takes approx. 3-4 months until the first cut and subsequently can be cut after approx. every 10 weeks. This plant grows wild close to the village.
During this session locally collected mulberry and Leucaena seeds, proved by LBD, were planted along 200 metres of fencing.
Water was carried from the channel, about 10 metres, to water-in the newly planted area.
Overview of Land to Plant: In total 1.5 hectares (15,000 sqm) available to plant.
The village had already started to plant on the land put aside for growing forage. Approx. 0.5 hectares (5,000 sqm) had already been fenced and approx. 3,000 sqm planted, 2,000 on this visit and 1,000 previously by the villagers. However, on inspection it was clear that some of the 1,000, needed to be re-planted as it died; partially due to using an incorrect planting technique and lack of water.
Approx. 1 hectare is still waiting to be cleared before it can then be planted and half of the land still needs to be fenced. The farmers agreed to do the planting & fencing when they finish planting rice in early June. Ideally, the work should all have been finished by the end of June to allow enough forage to grow by October, the expected peak calving season, and therefore also the start of availability for milking buffalo.
3) Village Champions
At the farm, we are proud of the regular week-long training sessions we provide for local farmers. The training covers animal husbandry skills, so farmers can care for the buffalo, and also how to use the milk to improve nutrition for Laos children. Farmers that stay for the full 5-day training become Village Champions for their local villages. So, let’s explain what it takes to become a Village Champion! Some of this year’s champions completed our farm-based training held from 16th-20th March 2020.
Day 1 - Overview Training
The first day saw 11 participants in total: 8 from the village, 2 PRF representatives & 1 from the Department of Agriculture. All spent the day undertaking a combination of classroom presentations and a farm tour including practical elements.
The comprehensive curriculum introduces the following topics:
● Basic animal husbandry including types of diseases; transmission, symptoms & preventive treatment i.e. vaccinations: Foot & Mouth Disease etc
● Financial benefits of raising buffalo.
● Importance of breeding to maximize economic return
● Forage management: nutritional & feed requirements of buffalo particularly lactating buffalo.
● Calf care from birth to 4 months old including anti-bodies & immunity, de-worming & vaccinations.
● Milk consumption, the nutritional value of milk & the importance of hygiene. Correct technique for preparing & milking the buffalo and cooking milk with sticky rice.
● Each participant is given a Reproduction Training Handbook & Farmer Training Handbook
Days 2-5 - Four Day Village Champion Training
On days 2-5 there were 6 participants - 4 Village Champions in the making & 2 PRF. Our well-structured course builds knowledge and confidence across each day.
Every day 8:00am – 11:30am there is a practical session on milking buffalo & cooking milk. Everyone is trained on:
● Preparing equipment correctly
● Hygiene standards for equipment & milking
● How to manage & restrain buffalo properly, cleaning buffalo teats correctly, and process & procedure for milking
● Removing manure & cleaning buffalo enclosure
● Preparing milk for transport on motorbike in such a hot and humid climate
● Preparing fire and processing milk with pre-mix, sticky rice, fruit & vegetables (recipes provided)
Everyday 1:00pm – 3:00pm smaller groups rotate practical training on:
● Injections & Vaccinations
● Calf Care
● General Treatments (including pregnancy check and treating injuries)
3pm to 5pm Group Sessions provide practical training on:
Day 2 - Forage Management & Buffalo Diets
Day 3 - Breeding, Body Score Condition & Pregnancy Checking
Day 4 - Mineral Blocks (For more info on mineral blocks, see here.)
Day 5 - Buffalo Enclosure, Materials needed & costs
At the end of Day 5, there is a Feedback Session and then a discussion about the follow-up actions required for the village to become part of the LBD milking program.
Wow! To become a Village Champion takes a lot of dedication and learning in both theory and practice. We are proud of the training that we provide and of our Village Champions who take the learning back to the villages and help make a difference to the whole community. Congratulations to all our Village Champions.
Have you seen our social media this week?
If not, pop on over to facebook/laosbuffalodairyor instagram/laosbuffalodairyto see what we have been up to!
Upcoming events
1-3 October, 2020 will be the dates for this years' festival of lights, Boun Heua Fai. If you are in Luang Prabang for it, the big night is the 2nd. Make sure you save some time in your day to come see us at the farm!
Readthisblog from 2 years ago to learn a little bit about what the festival means.
TOURISM IN NEED
COVID-19 has badly affected tourism and visits to the farm. In order to mitigate some of the effects of the loss of income this has meant for the dairy, we have teamed up with the Tourism in Need initiative that supports responsible tourism organizations affected by the pandemic. Through this initiative, travelers can support the dairy through the Give Today, Go Tomorrow fundraising scheme. Click here to find out more and to make a contribution to help us to pay farmers and team members, and continue to train farmers and work on our nutrition program.
