Soya milk making supports nutrition of Kalumo village families
Before 2015, the family of Agnes Kaliati from Kalumo village of Traditional Authority Kalumo in Ntchisi could not afford to buy milk. It was too expensive and the family could only drink milk once or twice in a year. Since joining Mother Group at Masangano Primary School in 2015, Agnes together with other women were trained by DAPP in various skills including production of milk from soya beans.
DAPP Malawi with support from the Roger Federer Foundation implemented a Let Children Stay in School project aimed at improving the school environments for Standard 1 and 2 learners in 114 primary schools in order to enjoy learning.
One of the component in the project was working with community members who were engaged in mobilization of local resources that were used in construction of standard playgrounds for the lower class learners. Additionally, the community members were trained in income generating skills among which included production of milk from soya beans, jam as well as juice making.
To mitigate the effects of climate change, the communities around the schools were also taught how to make and use firewood saving stoves in order to reduce cutting down of trees for fuel.
“It is easy to make soya milk; first we clean our dried soya beans, boil them until the hulls become soft and loose then we flush out the hulls and rinse the beans thoroughly. The beans are then pounded in a mortar and water is added to separate the soya milk from solids using a sieve [or squeezing through cheese cloth]. Finally, we boil the milk till and let it cool. For an improved taste we add a little salt and sugar to taste,” explains Agnes.
Agnes says is proud she acquired the milk production skills through the project and that her family now enjoys milk which is cheap to produce from soya beans.
“My family enjoys this milk and they encourage me to make it every day” says Agnes who described the soya milk as being good as fresh milk from the shops.
Apart from happiness the milk has brought to her family, she also noted that the milk has improved the nutrition status of her family. She plans to cultivate more soya during the next farming season so that her family can drink milk throughout the year.
“I am encouraging people to cultivate more soya and use it to make milk because it is good for our health.” Adds Agnes who says this milk is both nutritious and cheap.
