A friend of mine once told me that if our community remains stagnant for few more years, our economy will be in shambles and every person will have a reason to go abroad. My line of work isn’t financially rewarding at all, but at the end of the day, I derive reward from the fact that I might build something constructive for those who choose to stay back. In order to explain my line of work, let me share a fragment of how I was brought up. Since both my parents were farmers, I grew up in a small sphere where we had to lug water, collect firewood, plough fields and plant crops. Being raised in Gangtey valley, Phobjikha, I always wanted to create a sustainable business that would allow me to work with the farmers. While I was in my second year of college abroad, it was as if I had a calling, a voice of purpose that impelled me to come back to Bhutan.

I started Khemdro Dairy back in 2017, but it was quite an arduous journey. Since this business was very cutthroat and perishable, financial institutions weren’t willing to invest but understandably so, as it involved a lot of work but not a whole lot of profit. Loden Foundation came in at a very critical juncture and I know this sounds cliché, but the income I had received resulted being very integral and essential to my business.

Now that I am at this point in my life, I hope I can elevate my business to an organized and professional extent where it can exist without me. There are 550 households in Gangtey valley, and it is a dream of mine to make them all a part of this value chain

Sherub Dorji, Khemdro Diary

Picture and Story by Kinley C Tenzin and Tenzin Jambay Wangchuk