b'TOP LEFT assessed the needs of their area anddairy first began operation, it processed Bihani membernoted that while many farmers ownedand sold paneer, yogurt and ghee in Mina Kandel demonstrates thedairy cows and buffalo, there wasaddition to milk. At the suggestion of rickshaw used tonowhere to store the milk. That meanta Heifer technician, Bihani added kulfi, sell ice cream inmuch of the milk went to waste, andor ice cream, to its list of products. The the community.farmers generally sold their milk toclimate of Nepals flatlands, where TOP RIGHT traders, who paid much less than marketsummers can get as hot as 108 degrees Mina Ale distributes icevalue. So, with the support of HeiferFahrenheit, created a loyal customer cream outsideNepal, the cooperative worked withbase for the product, which was the Bihani facilitythe municipality to convert a vegetablepreviously scarce in the area. Now late last year.collection center into Bihani Dairy. Bihani kulfis are sold at local markets, BOTTOM RIGHT The dairy started out collecting justin a nearby school and via rickshaw.Since the beginning of150 liters of milk a day, and the women the COVID-19traveled to each farm to convinceOne reason for the pandemic, thefarmers to sell their milk to Bihani. women of Bihani Dairy haveBut after only four years, Bihaniscooperatives success been takingproduction increased to 1,850 liters, the necessarilyand now the farmers come to them. is their adaptability.precautions to keep their businessMany people didnt trust us since running safely. it was an exclusively women-ledAdaptability became even more business, said Mina Ale, cooperativecrucial in March 2020, when the manager. But we faced this challenge.COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide Now people respect us. Competitionlockdown. Nepals Lumbini Province, is an issue now, she said. After seeingwhere Bihani is located, was one of the success of Bihani, three otherthe regions affected the most. The groups have opened dairies. cooperative quickly adopted social One reason for the cooperativesdistancing measures so they did not success is their adaptability. When themiss a single day of milk collection, 26| SPRING 2021'