The Engadini group identified maas, yoghurt and butter as the three products most likely to sell and conducted a consumer survey on the products they wanted to produce. The group decided to produce 200 ℓ maas and 200 ℓ yoghurt per week.
The group received technical training on the production of maas and yoghurt prior to planning the enterprise and made a small batch of yoghurt and maas during the enterprise planning process. Although the technical training was conducted on small-scale dairy processing, the principles of small-scale dairy processing and medium-scale processing are the same. Small-scale dairy processing can be done in a kitchen using household equipment and utensils, whereas medium scale dairy processing would require more
specialised equipment such as a small batch pastuariser, The same hygiene and food safety requirements need to be adhered to for both small- and medium- scale processing enterprises. The group mastered the skill to produce good quality maas and yoghurt as was evident in the taste test results.
The technical feasibility of the Engadini dairy processing enterprise depends on the group acquiring the necessary fresh milk from the Trust. The supply of fresh milk may be a limiting factor to the sustainability of the enterprise as the dairy processing group is a sub- group of the larger Trust and decisions regarding finances and facilities on the farms are controlled by the Executive Committee of the Trust. The dairy processing group members are not members of the Executive Committee of the Trust and communication between the dairy processing group and the Executive Committee of the Trust is limited, especially between the women and the chairman and the farm manager.
Currently the Engadini Trust has a standing contract with Nestlé to deliver between 400 ℓ and 500 ℓ of fresh milk per day. The capacity of the Killarney parlour is approximately 550 ℓ, leaving a surplus of 50 ℓ per day. The surplus will not be solely available for the dairy processing enterprise, since each of the Trust members takes fresh milk for home consumption. Unless the number of dairy cows is increased, inadequate supply of fresh milk will cause the enterprise to fail.
There have been indications that the Trust’s Executive Committee wants to change the farming enterprise from dairy to meat farming. The Executive Committee indicated that they would keep five cows to ensure a continued supply of milk for the processing enterprise. Five cows would provide sufficient milk for the initial plans to produce 200 ℓ of maas and 200 ℓ of yoghurt per month. Should the enterprise grow, the five dairy cows would be a constraint
The women’s group considered buying milk from a neighbouring farm, but do not have the necessary cold truck to keep the milk at the correct temperature. Acquiring a cooling truck is not viable, since it will be too expensive, leaving no money for any other equipment.
Should the women revert to purchasing milk from the neighbouring farmer, the price would impact negatively on the sales price of the maas and yoghurt and possibly on the amount of maas and yoghurt the group would be able to sell.
The current dairy facility would need to be extended and upgraded to cater for dairy processing, or a new facility needs to be erected. The current milking parlour consist of a manual milking area. From there the fresh milk is carried to a room with two cooler tanks.
Adjacent to the room with the cooler tanks, is a cold room that is not working and a very small storeroom. The current facility will not pass Regulation 1111; Foodstuffs of the Cosmetic and Disinfectant Act 1972 (Department of Health, 1986) that regulates the handling of milk and dairy products. The cement floor of the room that could be the processing room is cracked, which could allow bacterial growth. The walls, although painted, are dirty and cannot easily be cleaned. There is a wash basin in the room where the cooler thanks are, but water is not connected to the basin.
Extensions to the current parlour need to include a new room where the dairy processing will be done. The processing room will need a sloping floor, with a drain grid and sufficient water to ensure that the processing plant can be properly cleaned. The walls and floor must be washable (Table 2.9). The existing cold room must be repaired and a storeroom built. In addition, a change room and toilets will have to be built.
The Executive Committee of the Trust controls the finances and will have to give its full support for the alterations to the existing dairy parlour, or to the building of a new processing facility. Even the CASP grant allocated to the Engadini Trust by the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs is controlled by the Trust. The current conflict within the Trust indicates that the Executive Committee of the Trust, and more specifically the Chairman, would not allow the necessary finances for building a processing plant to be allocated to the envisaged enterprise.
The researcher is of the opinion that the success of the Engadini dairy processing enterprise could be feasible if factors such as interference from the other members of the Trust can be
eliminated and if communication amongst the members can improved. The Engadini dairy processing enterprise applied to register as a co-operative in order to limit the unwanted external factors. The external factors include the group of women that withdrew from the enterprise activities wanting to join as soon as the enterprise proves to be successful and the Trust wanting to control their profits. These factors may cause the enterprise to fail.
Should the group be successful in the registration process, the feasibility of the dairy processing enterprise would be improved, but, as for any enterprise, stringent control steps will have to be put in place. These controls will include fixed rules regarding profit- sharing, actions to be taken if members do not adhere to rules and conflict resolution processes.
A huge concern to the researcher is the fact that most of the group members live in Imbali, approximately 30 km from the farm where the processing will take place. The women will have to travel to the farm on a daily basis, either with public transport or with their husbands. Transporting the maas and yoghurt to the clients could also be a challenge, especially because the group does not have a cold truck to keep the products cold. The external factors that may have an effect on the feasibility will be further discussed in Chapter nine.