Sarla: From a cattle girl to a businesswoman

Sarla Choudhary grew up in Nimoda, in Rajasthan’s Kota district, surrounded by cattle which her father reared. Over the years, she got to learn a lot about the animals. “Even when I got married, my father gave me a pair of cows and buffaloes as a gift,” she says. Sarla was determined to become financially independent and contribute to her family’s income. Now at fifty years of age, Sarla owns 25 cows and 25 buffaloes.

Looking after cattle has been a lifelong endeavour for her but it wasn’t always so. She started her business, almost in secret, hiding it from her disapproving family. “I started selling milk to nearby houses with the help of a milk vendor who I knew,” she says. The sale grew steadily and Sarla’s saving grew too. When her husband struggled to keep the family afloat on his earnings alone, she stepped in to help. Since then, her husband has stood by her business through thick and thin. It was to the Adani Foundation, Sarla says, that she turned to when she needed to educate herself on how to expand her business. She says, “I learnt from courses at the Foundation about using the right kind of fodder, best practices in cattle breeding and artificial insemination.” The Foundation also stepped in when she needed medical assistance of veterinary doctors.

At present, Sarla employs five people who deliver 90 litres of milk in the nearby Adani township daily. Encouraged by the Foundation, she often addresses women in the area and shares her journey.