WELCOME TO AYUSHA DAIRY

Ayusha Dairy Private Ltd was started as a social enterprise with the objective of procuring quality milk and providing better price benefit to milk producers through a diverse set of value-added services designed to provide its members with means to become equal shareholders in the dairy sector.

The value-added services form a multi-pronged approach to becoming a cost-effective and efficient one-stop centre that provides milk collection facilities, offers better price benefit, better access to veterinary services and other essential services to its members.

Knowing that the dairy sector is fast-growing, the effort at Ayusha Dairy Private Limited is to focus on improving the milk producers' share in the sector, which will prove beneficial to the investor, the milk producer and the dairy sector at large.

Ayusha Dairy Private Limited eventually hopes to process and sell milk and other milk products.

Who are we

Ayusha Dairy Private Limited began in December, 2011 as an extension of financial services provided by Samasta Microfinance Limited to the urban and rural poor in the southern states of India. Under the umbrella of initiatives fostered by Samasta, the dairy cow loan is one of many. This particular initiative focuses on providing owners of dairy cows with an opportunity to increase their milk production capabilities by supplying the dairy cow owner with the finances to add another cow to his lot.

Ayusha was started with an aim to procure quality milk by providing value-added services to the producers that would improve the quality of milk and provide consistent, on-time remuneration to the milk producer in south India.

Through early market survey, Ayusha recorded the positives and negatives of the already existing system of milk collection and price point for milk producers. Ayusha noticed that there were two distinct groups of milk producers, first, those who worked directly with the organised sector consisting of government and private companies and second, an unorganised sector selling milk to the middlemen and local vendors. Ayusha believes that the unorganised sector can be brought together and made effective with the provision of specific benefits and services.

During the survey, other factors like fluctuating pricing of milk, the insincerity of the middlemen and the lack of guaranteed and timely payments were major concerns of the milk producers. The milk producers seemed to need a company that was reliable, trustworthy but most importantly, one that provided the producers with a better price benefit for their product along with a variety of value-added services. Ayusha Dairy Private Limited decided to become, that Company to make the situation better for the milk producer.

On 24 December 2011, Ayusha Dairy Private Limited started its offices in Kovilpalayam and began milk collection centres in 7 villages in the Kinathukadavu taluk in Tamilnadu, which has good accessibility to the major market centres in the South such as Coimbatore, Palakkad, Pollachi and so on. Today, five months later, Ayusha has milk collection centres in 25 villages.

Vision

To partner with rural milk producers in creating economically viable, sustainable and vibrant avenues and services that drives both rural development and recharges the dairy sector as a whole.

Mission

Ayusha Dairy Private Limited is determined to alleviate the conditions of dairy cow owners by becoming a one-stop solution that provides milk collection facilities, offers better price benefit, better access to veterinary services, good quality cattle feed and provides links to animal husbandry programs initiated by the Government.

Our Logo

In Ayusha (which in Sanskrit means : "long life"), there is a possibility to imagine a fair, competitive marketplace that is rooted in providing its members knowledge, advice and resources. Ayusha believes that the individual and the community are at the heart of development, and that financial benefits don't stem from cutting corners with one's members. The aim of Ayusha is to not only ensure that the producer benefits but also that there is a significant rise in the quality and nutrition of the milk procured and supplied.

The kolam design is at the entrance of the traditional Indian home, it ushers in prosperity, it is complicated in design but made up of simple, well thought-out decisions. The kolam design emerges from connecting all the dots - the ground is sprinkled with water, smeared with cow-dung which is believed to be antiseptic, dots of rice powder are arranged in grid and then the hand weaves between the dots making an intricate design, every dot has a purpose. Besides being decorative, it is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is the goddess of prosperity.

Our kolam is a representation of the cow, an acknowledgement to the source of our product but also, because the cow represents the giving nature of life, where it gives more than it takes, which is also the direction, Ayusha would like to emulate. And our philosophy stems from the act of making a kolam, Ayusha believes that to achieve its goals, everyone must work together and everyone must have a purpose. And that social enterprises can succeed because they look out for people. The choice of colours, blue depicts the life giving freshness of milk and brown depicts the natural rural environment of the dairy farm with firm rootedness

WHat we do

To achieve its goals Ayusha has a multi-point approach, forming groups that provide a strong base for an efficient and cost-effective method of milk collection, in addition to providing its members with access to a range of value-added services.

Group Formation

Milk producers of a particular village are divided into groups depending on three factors. First, all group members must be above the age of eighteen, each member in the ten-member group must have at least one dairy cow or it is formed in such a manner that there is a daily minimum of 80 liters of milk supplied to the company by each group. A milk collection coordinator is assigned to each group, who is responsible for daily milk collection, collecting milk samples for quality check, tracking activity at the centre and overseeing the timely provision of the value-added services. Members of a group are enrolled using an enrolment form, documents like ration card and voter identity card are collected, two passport-size photographs of the member and bank account details. In case of no bank account, assistance is provided to the member to open a bank account.

Milk Collection Process

Each milk collection coordinator is provided with supplies such as measuring cans, aluminum trays, milk cans, lactometer and thermometer and is trained to use the lactometer and the thermometer.

On a daily basis each member of the group brings milk to their assigned milk collection centre. At the centre, the coordinator samples the milk and if the milk passes company approved quality standards then it is measured and poured into milk cans. The quantity of milk and the lactometer reading is recorded in the individual member's passbook as well as in the company track sheet. The process is repeated for each member.

When all the milk has been collected, the coordinator sums up the total volume collected and notes it down in a track sheet. The milk cans are then sealed and stored away. The coordinator hands over the milk cans to the milk collection van along with the copy of the track sheet at a specified time. Finally, the milk cans are delivered to the bulk milk consumers.

Value-added services for Producers

The services provided by the company are:

Assisting the members in the selection of high-yielding dairy cows
Door-to-door supply of good quality cattle feed, fodder, concentrate and mineral mixture at competitive rates
Testing of the soil to determine sustainability to cultivation of fodder grass
Organizing periodic veterinary services such as treatment of diseases, artificial insemination, vaccination, de-worming, etc.
Arranging regular training sessions on latest animal husbandry practices at the village level
Conducting veterinary camps and cattle shows
Facilitating cattle insurance