In the summer of 2015, little did I know that the plane ride which I thought would be my last would shape lives for the better.
I accepted a friend’s offer to visit his village in a remote area of Nepal without knowing much about the village’s situation. All the people on the plane (including me) were certain that we would not land at Taplejung Airport in one piece due to the suddenly challenging weather conditions, but thanks to the chilled yet skilled pilots, I made it there alive.
Even though the plane landed on an imaginary landing strip that only the pilot could see we felt like the mystic air of Taplejung had a certain gift in store. Means of transportation were limited, facilities were almost nonexistent and people there were certainly not living in convenience.
Despite all that the people there were so welcoming, sincere, and hardworking.
We were given Chhurpi (Hard Cheese) to snack on in the long and tiring paths to the Pathibhara Temple because other snacks were not easily accessible.
We have been given Chhurpi snacks since childhood, but the consistency and flavor of them in Taplejung are very different. I noticed the difference in taste.
I was moved by the challenging lifestyle there and even with such limited resources the people there were still not complaining!
The abundance of Chhurpi and the demand that was not high there made it difficult for the farmers to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. It was heartbreaking to see how something so nutritious and healthy was not being consumed and paid for its actual worth.
While coming back to Kathmandu, I shared the story with my team and made a pact that we would do something for those farmers there. While brainstorming we figured that the demand in Kathmandu was less compared to the Chhurpi supply.
Chhurpi needed a different use, not just human consumption. We were discussing day and night about what the different uses could be.
Then we researched and noticed the fact that chhurpi’s are in demand, especially in the USA for dog chew. To experiment, when Noona my dog chewed on the Chhurpi and the pleasing view of her enjoying stamped the idea of selling it to the international market. In our research, the data showed pet industry is a scalable market in developed countries.
We took steps forward by attending global pet exhibitions and connecting with buyers. In 3-4 years, we were exporting the Chhurpi to nine countries and still counting.
