Learning to Make Yogurt

Wednesday morning Osama and I arrived at the kitchen early in the morning so that we could observe (and participate in) the yogurt production process from start to finish. Milk is transported directly from farms to the kitchen by bicycle each morning.

[The milk delivery]

A small portion of the milk (about 4 litres each day) is pasteurized and sold as milk, mostly to mothers with HIV who want a safer alternative to breastfeeding. This little side project was initiated by the Yogurt Mamas themselves, to fill a demand they recognized in the community. The remaining milk is transformed into the probiotic yogurt that is the mainstay of the business. This is a fairly tedious process that involves a lot of sitting and stirring, as we learned through experience! The women are very conscientious about their work – checking temperatures meticulously and sterilizing equipment between batches.

[Pouring the hot milk into the cooling container]

We also delved into the kitchen’s recent sales records to discover that on a typical day, about 17 litres of yogurt are sold from the kitchen and about 21 litres are given free to people affected with HIV.

We also began piecing together the financial records of the kitchen, so that we can help advise on pricing decisions. Handwritten Swahili receipts can be a challenge, but thankfully I already learned numbers in my language lessons! This will likely be an ongoing challenge for the summer, but we now have a very good handle on the cost associated with producing a litre of yogurt.

[The Yogurt Kitchen cash register – yes, that is a Nestle powdered milk can]

To help you better visualize the project, here are photos of the kitchen (inside and out) and most of the women that make it happen.

[With nine of the ten Yogurt Mamas and our translator]

[The outside of the kitchen]

[The inside of the kitchen]