The once sleepy cities of the Thar desert are undergoing rapid change. With industrialisation further eroding rural livelihoods, promoting camels by utilising their milk in the marginal drylands of Rajasthan can go a long way in ensuring food security for desert communities.
The versatile 'ship of the desert', which provides milk, meat, wool and transportation for the locals – and India's Border Security Force – has long survived the harsh conditions of its unforgiving habitat. In fact, if nurtured, the Indian Dromedary camel is one species that can best sustain itself under changing climatic conditions and growing water scarcity.
The camel is already an invaluable asset for families like that of Janav Khan from Sam Village, about 45 km from Jaisalmer. It not only provides Khan with a livelihood but also offers his family much-needed nutrition. While he uses the male camel to take tourists for camel rides, the female camel's milk is fed to his two sons and a daughter, all below 10 years, twice daily. Tightly wrapping a boldly-embroidered camel wool shawl around himself, which provides protection against the chilly winds sweeping the dunes, Khan says, “I also have two cows and two dozen goats and sheep. We sell goat and cow milk, but camel milk has always been for home consumption since centuries.”
Though camel milk is widely consumed in the villages of the Thar desert, it is seldom sold due to various religious and social beliefs. Talking to the local camel owners, one discovers that there is a belief that if camel milk is sold, the camel will die. Jagmal Singh Raika, 45, from Gadhwala village near Bikaner in northwestern Rajasthan, adds, “However, we consume the milk in our extended family.”
Jagmal belongs to the Raika community, which have been traditional camel breeders in India. He owns 150 camels, of which about 25 yield milk to the tune of 60 litres a day. He is now seriously contemplating selling the milk in the market.
The Bikaner-based National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC), where Jagmal has served as an Institute Management Committee member from 2004-2007, has been promoting the nutritive and medicinal properties of camel milk. Rajasthan has a total population of 4,21,836 camels and 90 per cent of these are found in the northwestern region of the State. As most people here survive on rain-fed agriculture, selling camel milk and milk products could multiply daily incomes manifold. Today, the market price for camel's milk is between Rs 20 and Rs 22 per litre. But as demand grows, so will income.
At present, camel milk is not consumed by the general public because of its unavailability and unacceptability in comparison to cow and buffalo milk, which is also found in abundance here.
But how does camel milk compare with cow, buffalo or goat milk? “Camel milk has several nutritional advantages. The moisture and protein content in camel milk is higher than in cow's milk. Also, it has a comparatively low percentage of total solids and fat and contains a higher concentration of insulin along with significantly higher values of trace minerals,” informs Dr Gorakh Mal, Senior Scientist, NRCC.
Camel milk is also rich in minerals and contains protective proteins and enzymes. “Peptidoglycan recognition protein has been detected in camel milk, but not in cow's milk. This enzyme has broad anti-microbial activity and has the ability to control the cancer metastasis. It also has a greater concentration of whey proteins compared to cow's milk. Consumption of total whey proteins in the diet has been associated with the retardation of chemically induced cancers in several animal models,” adds Dr Gorakh Mal.
Besides, the availability of a relatively higher amount of Vitamin C, a powerful anti-oxidant in raw camel milk, is of significant relevance in arid and semi-arid areas. According to researchers at the NRCC, camel milk exhibits a hypoglycaemic effect when administered as an adjunctive therapy, which could be due to the presence of an insulin-like protein beneficial for diabetics. It can also be used as supportive therapy in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For Shankar Rewari, 40, camel breeding has been an ancestral occupation. A resident of Digri Dhani in Sarada village, 62 kilometres from Udaipur, he owns 40 camels and sells about 20 litres of milk daily to hotels and in the local market at Rs 20 per litre. Even Rajasthan's Saras Dairy buys milk at Rs 16 a litre from him. He says, “The demand for camel milk is growing because of its many benefits. There is a very low rate of diabetes and cancer in our community, and our parents and grandparents say it is because we consume camel milk. It is also in great demand by people suffering from allergies and liver problems.”
The NRCC has played a major role in propelling this change. By preparing and commercialising various camel milk-based products, including ice creams or 'kulfi' with different flavours, 'gulab jamun', flavoured and fermented milk, cottage cheese, cheese and milk powder, the research institute has created a demand. In fact, recently, it has also developed a moisturising skin cream made from camel milk. For now, these products are being retailed through camel milk parlours in Bikaner and an increasing trend in sales and profit has been observed. (Women's Feature Service)
