Around the same time, our Gopal, Mr. Rakesh Beg, who was the centre in-charge for our newly set up ILDC at Makhapadar in the vicinity of the village, contacted him and informed him about the benefits of artificial insemination in cattle. Later, AIs were performed on his cows, which resulted in two healthy calves.

When the Trust decided to initiate a pilot programme on the "Milk Procurement and Marketing" scheme in some of villages in Nuapada, Tulsiram came forward and requested for assistance. Observing his strong will, he was made a beneficiary under this pilot milk marketing scheme. We studied the potential of milk production in the village and the best market facilities in the vicinity of the village. Through our scheme, we provided training to Tulsiram for milk collection and testing. We also enabled his selling it to a nearby milk collection centre of The Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation, also known as OMFED. After the training, he was given two cans of 20 litres each with stands, a lacto meter, a measurement set and other supports.

The pilot program was launched at his village on July 28, 2014 and Tulsiram started working as a milkman in Kopia. As a result of the scheme and his hard work, he now collects around 30 litres of milk every day and earns Rs.4,500 per month by selling milk at Sinapali, a nearby township. Tulsiram is happy with getting a permanent source of income in his own village and has become an inspiration for the other youth of Kopia.

Life wasn't always the same for Mahendra before joining the Trust. His family's only asset was a one acre land, which was not enough to take care of the family needs. However, after coming to know about the openings with the J.K. Trust for the position of Gopal, he applied and got selected. After four month's training, he was appointed as a Gopal at ILDC, Ahluwala, in July 2011.

Initially, the dairy farmers refused to call him for AI services, but with his persistence, quality service and hard work, he overcame the initial resistance and proved himself to be a great asset in increasing the dairy productivity of farmers by providing AI and other veterinary services. He now does an average of 170 AIs every month, reaching out to a large number of farmers in the vicinity of the ILD centre.

Not only has his efforts helped improve the breed quality of cattle in the target villages, it has also helped him and his family improve their living standards. From the emoluments he earned by providing services as a Gopal, he purchased two Murrah Buffaloes by paying Rs 1.3 lakh and now supplies 12 litres milk daily to the Yamuna Nagar market at Rs. 34per litre, thus supplementing his income to take good care of his family. He is thankful to JKTGVY for changing his life for good.