Milk Collection Centre
|
Our first Milk Collection Centre is up and running in the Kigeme Diocese. A milk collection center is, as the title implies, a center where the local people can bring their milk to be purchased, then, the milk is processed and resold to the general population for a profit.
Thanks to a generous donation from The Highbury Foundation and various other Udder Project Supporters, we were able to supply the Food Security Team with the start up costs for the MCC. The MCC opened its doors in June 2018. Currently, they have approximately 98 farmers bringing their milk to the Center each day. They are processing, on average, 500 L milk/day but their current capacity is 1200 L/day. We strongly feel that this center will be helpful to the area as they provide a source of jobs for the local people and income for the farmers as it is a place where they can sell their milk. It will also provide safe milk for the local population to drink helping in the general health and nutrition of the Rwandan people. |
In order to increase the revenue and success of the MCC a few things were required.
Further Updates - as of September 2022
There have been some significant changes occurring in the Diocese as of August 28th, 2022, and these changes do affect the Milk Collection Centre (The MCC). The Kigeme Diocese has birthed a new Diocese called Nyaraguru. The new Bishop there is Bishop Vincent (who used to be the pastor at Cyivugiza). He is a wonderful man, a forward thinker and will be excellent in his new role. But, with the new Diocese, some of the parishes that were once under Kigeme Diocese are now under this new Diocese.
The biggest change affecting the MCC is that Archdeacon, Dr Felicien is now a part of the new Diocese. As such, he can no longer be the veterinarian of FSP or the manager of the MCC in the Kigeme Diocese. He maintains a role as a veterinarian in the new Diocese (as well as archdeacon).
Currently, the MCC has not made any more inroads since we were last there. They still only get 200 Litres of milk from farmers/day and sell about 180 L/day. The “profit” they make averages 372,000 Rwf/month (this does not include the salaries. We have been paying the salaries for the employees since the MCC inception). So, clearly not profitable enough at present to be self sustainable which was our goal.
Currently the staffing is as follows:
They have a board - comprised of a President, Diocesan Administrator, Diocesan head of planning and development, coordinator of FSP, MCC manager - they meet quarterly
MCC staff:
Manager, Accountant, 2 cleaners and 2 night watchmen
Their goal is to make the MCC more profitable so that it can sustain the FSP (which is what we have been trying to work towards). They want to increase milk intake from 200 litres to 1500 L by 2024.
To that end their ideas are :
- to have 5 collection points in the Diocese- where 5 people will go (on bikes) to collect and distribute milk
- Increase price offered to the farmers for their milk - currently it is 200 Rwf, they want to increase to 300 Rwf - therefore more farmers will come and sell their milk (currently many farmers are selling their milk to their neighbours, unpasteurized milk- at 250)
- Improve genetics of the cows in the area
- Have a trained veterinarian at MCC
- Have a branded milk truck (they currently have a truck for the MCC that our partners in the UK bought for them but, will need to modify it with a refrigerating unit so that it can distribute milk to the farthest places without the milk going bad)
- Obtain enough milk to be able to run the pasteurizer that we bought for them in 2018
We will continue to support them by paying the salaries of the MCC employees as long as we can. Due to Covid restrictions and the recent state of our economy, it is becoming increasingly more challenging to raise the money for their salaries. Any additional money raised will hopefully go towards helping the MCC get back on track to self sustainability.
We are asking our loyal supporters of the Udder Project to consider supporting the milk collection center. Please keep your eyes out for any fundraisers we may be having. In addition, if you feel inclined to donate to the Udder Project to help us reach our goal of a self-sustainable Food Security Program in Kigeme, Rwanda, please let us know. Tax receipts will be issued for the donations. Donations can be made by Pay Pal on our website, checks payable to the Udder Project and sent to the Society address, E-transfers or by contacting either Carolyn or Rachael.
- A pasteurizer would have the capacity to pasteurize 1000 L of milk/cycle. Currently, they are boiling the milk over an open cooking fire. The pasteurizer is a cleaner option, will produce safer milk and will be much more environmentally friendly. Wood is also ten times more expensive then electricity so the pasteurizer will cut down on the cost to run the center in the long run. We have purchased this pasteurizer thanks to generous donations and it was up and running for awhile but, they are unable to continue use it as they need at least 500 L of milk to make it economically feasible to run the pasteurizer.
- The area that the MCC currently services is smaller. In order to be able to distribute milk to a wider geographical area as well as obtain milk from farmers further away from the MCC, they need a reliable vehicle. This will allow them to increase their marketable area. We have fortunately been able to obtain this vehicle thanks to donations made by 'The Maidenhead Trust', our friends from the UK, who have helped the MCC considerably. We now need to outfit this vehicle with a refrigeration unit so that it can collect milk from the farthest sites and transport it back to the MCC before the milk spoils.
- Education of the farmers who contribute their milk to the center and the veterinary assistants who help those farmers will be essential to the success of the MCC as this will ensure healthier cows and, therefore, better milk production.
- Equipment such as refrigerators, water tanks to allow a continuous access to water as well as a fence to protect the building are also critical to ensure the success of the MCC.
Further Updates - as of September 2022
There have been some significant changes occurring in the Diocese as of August 28th, 2022, and these changes do affect the Milk Collection Centre (The MCC). The Kigeme Diocese has birthed a new Diocese called Nyaraguru. The new Bishop there is Bishop Vincent (who used to be the pastor at Cyivugiza). He is a wonderful man, a forward thinker and will be excellent in his new role. But, with the new Diocese, some of the parishes that were once under Kigeme Diocese are now under this new Diocese.
The biggest change affecting the MCC is that Archdeacon, Dr Felicien is now a part of the new Diocese. As such, he can no longer be the veterinarian of FSP or the manager of the MCC in the Kigeme Diocese. He maintains a role as a veterinarian in the new Diocese (as well as archdeacon).
Currently, the MCC has not made any more inroads since we were last there. They still only get 200 Litres of milk from farmers/day and sell about 180 L/day. The “profit” they make averages 372,000 Rwf/month (this does not include the salaries. We have been paying the salaries for the employees since the MCC inception). So, clearly not profitable enough at present to be self sustainable which was our goal.
Currently the staffing is as follows:
They have a board - comprised of a President, Diocesan Administrator, Diocesan head of planning and development, coordinator of FSP, MCC manager - they meet quarterly
MCC staff:
Manager, Accountant, 2 cleaners and 2 night watchmen
Their goal is to make the MCC more profitable so that it can sustain the FSP (which is what we have been trying to work towards). They want to increase milk intake from 200 litres to 1500 L by 2024.
To that end their ideas are :
- to have 5 collection points in the Diocese- where 5 people will go (on bikes) to collect and distribute milk
- Increase price offered to the farmers for their milk - currently it is 200 Rwf, they want to increase to 300 Rwf - therefore more farmers will come and sell their milk (currently many farmers are selling their milk to their neighbours, unpasteurized milk- at 250)
- Improve genetics of the cows in the area
- Have a trained veterinarian at MCC
- Have a branded milk truck (they currently have a truck for the MCC that our partners in the UK bought for them but, will need to modify it with a refrigerating unit so that it can distribute milk to the farthest places without the milk going bad)
- Obtain enough milk to be able to run the pasteurizer that we bought for them in 2018
We will continue to support them by paying the salaries of the MCC employees as long as we can. Due to Covid restrictions and the recent state of our economy, it is becoming increasingly more challenging to raise the money for their salaries. Any additional money raised will hopefully go towards helping the MCC get back on track to self sustainability.
We are asking our loyal supporters of the Udder Project to consider supporting the milk collection center. Please keep your eyes out for any fundraisers we may be having. In addition, if you feel inclined to donate to the Udder Project to help us reach our goal of a self-sustainable Food Security Program in Kigeme, Rwanda, please let us know. Tax receipts will be issued for the donations. Donations can be made by Pay Pal on our website, checks payable to the Udder Project and sent to the Society address, E-transfers or by contacting either Carolyn or Rachael.