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Southern Cattle Corridor

In this area there is a strong taboo against goats milk. At JOY Youth Training Centre we had a potential customer for a dairy goat who was originally from this region, but had moved to Kampala. She decided not to go ahead with the idea when told by her family that they would never visit her home if she drank goats milk. Cattle are plentiful, and cows milk is available at low prices, so there is no point in banging our heads against a wall by working here.

Central and Southeast plus West Nile

The SE is densely populated and although cows are kept, the numbers are low and the price of milk is high. There is no taboo against goats milk, but it is a new idea and a little of the above attitude has rubbed off. However, the limited availability of milk means that only about 1 in 4 people drink it in any form even once in a week. So there is an incentive for attitudes to change, albeit slowly. In the area immediately around JOY Youth Training Centre we found that it took 5 years for a majority or people to see goats milk as normal, even if few drank it themselves; and 10 years before most people saw it as ‘their thing’. In the wider area, attitudes have now shifted a few years along that learning process,and there are a few notable hotspots of enthusiasm.

Although culturally  very distinct, it is likely that many parts of West Nile show parallels in their attitude towards goats milk.  Masaka project   Iganga project    Lingira Island possible project

Far Southwest

A very high population density in this hilly area has meant that availability of milk is even less than in Central Region. As a result, despite strong cultural links with the Southern Cattle Corridor, there is a considerable openness to the idea of goats milk.          Kabale project

Mount Elgon and the Rwenori Mountains

These two areas are small, but because of a very high population density they still represent a significant number of people. The problems of milk shortages are very acute here, and have been there for longer. So in these areas some groups already milk their local goats - most notably the Bagisu of Mount Elgon and the Bakonzo of the  Rwenzori Mountains. The indigenous goats give little milk and the lactation period is short, so there is a strong interest in improving the productivity by introducing dairy breeds.         Mbale project        Bundibugyo project

Karamoja

This is another area where goats milk is traditionally drunk, but for very different reasons. The area is sparsely populated, but with relatively large numbers of cattle. However it is very dry and the cows have to be taken long distances for water and pasture. Consequently, for large parts of the year goats are the only source of milk at the homesteads. There is enthusiasm for improving the growth rates and milk yields by bringing in dairy breeds, but there are many challenges to introducing them.          Moroto project

Northern, Teso & Tororo

Historically this is an agro-pastoral area with a strong tradition of cattle keeping and ample land in which to do it. However, in recent years, civil conflict and banditry have dramatically reduced cattle numbers. Furthermore, the indigenous cattle are a small zebu type which give very little milk. Consequently milk is in limited supply and quite expensive, and there is increasing interest in dairy goats.          Teso project        Lira potential project

Attitudes

to goats milk

Map of Southern Cattle Corridor, Uganda Map of Buganda and Southeast Uganda Map showing Karamoja in NE Uganda Map showing Mbale and Bundibugyo, Uganda Map showing Acholi,Teso and similar regions in Uganda Map of West Nile in Northern Uganda