How the Goat Bank works

July 2024 · 1 min read · Manikstu Agro Private Limited

A family receives two goats for two years, keeps part of the kids, and passes the rest on so that new families can begin.

The Goat Bank gives village women goats, not just a loan. A family receives two goats to look after for two years. Over that time the goats have kids, and part of the herd goes back to the bank so that other families can start in the same way.

Orissa Post reports that the goats typically give birth to nine or ten kids in the period. Of these, four or five stay with the company and the rest go to the participating families. Krishi Jagran describes the same cycle from the family's side: keep some of the offspring, return the rest to the bank, which passes them to new families.

Training is part of the package. Women learn goat rearing, basic medication and fodder collection. They are also taught about marketing and how to set prices in line with the market. Krishi Jagran notes that women make up about 70 percent of the workforce.

The same article puts the early reach at more than 1,000 farmers, mostly women, from 50 villages. It also records the obstacles Mahapatra names: cultural attitudes towards goat rearing, and the stigma that women entrepreneurs face. It adds that she plans to take the Goat Bank to other states within five years.