Bosansko Grahovo Milk Cooperative – Bosnia
Homes in Bosansko Grahovo, Bosnia, that were damaged in the Balkans war. Photo: CWS |
Udruzenje Gradjanki Grahovo (Grahovo Women's Association – WA)
Some 70 families in the community of Bosansko Grahovo, Bosnia, are creating a cooperative to sell part of the milk they produce and earn an income. Bosansko Grahovo has a population of about 3,000 people, down from a pre-war 8,000.
The community was devastated during the war in the Balkans, with most homes and businesses destroyed. Most pre-war jobs are no longer available, leaving families to find other means of providing for themselves. Selling milk can provide a dependable, predictable, and continuous source of income.
The families have found a dairy in nearby Bihac that will buy the milk they produce, if they have the appropriate equipment to handle it, and can comply with certain regulations and procedures.
To comply, the families are establishing a legal entity through which the milk sale will be organized, guaranteeing production levels and documenting the health of the cows, employing a veterinarian, educating themselves on milk hygiene, providing a milk station near a main road, installing adequate cooling tanks and other equipment, and purchasing a truck with a cooling tank for milk collection--all with the help of Church World Service's "Build a Village" program. The cooperative already has the necessary office equipment for maintaining records.
The Grahovo Women's Association is helping the community to organize the milk cooperative.
The establishment of the cooperative, along with individual loans to help farmers purchase additional cows, is enabling the families to bring themselves out of poverty. In the near future, another 80 families--some with no cows yet--are also planning to join the cooperative.
Support for Church World Service helps make this program possible.
Updated 10/9/07
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