Austagram cheese: How the industry is growing slowly, but steadily
With an increasing brand value, Austagram cheese is now available all over the country. A well-coordinated initiative to help the industry can take this local delicacy far ahead
Austagram, the beautiful haor upazila of Kishoreganj is fairly famous for its handcrafted artisanal cheese. Some cheesemakers from this place often proudly recall how their forefathers used to supply cheese to Dhaka's Nawabs.
The industry had always been small for some reason, but it managed to find new admirers from every corner of the country.
In recent years, two particular events gave the industry a positive impetus. Firstly, while inaugurating Itna-Mithamain-Austagram all-weather road, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned that the cottage cheese from Austagram was of international quality, and it would now find domestic and foreign markets thanks to the road.
Later in February 2023, the Austagram cheese was in the menu served to the prime minister during her visit to the then President Abdul Hamid's ancestral home in Mithamain, a neighbouring upazila in the haor.
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Both the events garnered wide press coverage, bringing the local cheese to limelight.
Now, Austagram cheese has become a brand name, and more and more online food shops are delivering this item countrywide. The brand value has risen so much that, according to one cheese maker, some shops are now selling cheese from other parts of the country as Austagram cheese, just like every commercially produced yoghurt is sold as 'Bogurar Doi.'
According to local artisans, the number of local cheesemakers is growing as a result.
A skill passed down through generations
It is said that the cheese industry started in Austagram in the Mughal era. Vast haor lands facilitating cattle rearing paved the way for cheese and various other dairy products.
"We have been making cheese for generations. Even my great-grandfather made cheese," said Babu, a young man from Karbalahati in Moddhyo-Austagram village. His father Mintu, and uncles Chottu and Firoz have been producing cheese for decades.
SM Nishan from the same village has been a producer since 2004, whose grandfather also made cheese and sold it to Dhaka's Nawab family.
In Kutubshahi Masjid Para, two brothers, Taiyeb and Torab, and Taiyeb's son Ambar Ali are also among the older cheese producers of Austagram. Taiyeb Ali, now 76, has been doing it for 35 years.
"We have been living off cheesemaking," said Ambar Ali, 42. Consecutive floods in recent years have hit the family hard, forcing them to sell off many of their lands and depend mainly on cheese production.
An expanding clientele and producers
Austagram cheese has a niche but loyal clientele.
This is why there is only one cheese shop in the bazar. All other producers' cheese is sold right from their homes.
"Customers come here every day for cheese. None of the cheese we make remains unsold," said Babu.
"Some customers are from the haor area itself, but many are from Kishoreganj. Then there are tourists who come here to visit the all weather road - some of them also buy cheese from us," he added.
All the cheese producers shared the same story. They also send cheese through courier services, and if the order is large, they often deliver the cheese themselves to make sure nothing goes wrong.
"There are customers who can't do without cheese. No matter how pricey it becomes, they always buy it from us," said Taiyab Ali.
Since the promotion of the product by the PM, many online shops have also been buying cheese from Austagram, and selling them around the country.
The location of the industry, however, has been a great challenge. It takes hours to reach the nearest courier service, which is located in Kishoreganj town. It is possible to send the products through Mithamain, but this takes an extra day.
Using digital leverage, some cheesemakers are selling more than other artisans. On an average day, they produce 10 kg cheese.
According to cheesemakers, 7 to 8 families used to make cheese in Austagram in the past.
This number has increased in recent times.
"Even rickshaw pullers these days make cheese and sell them on the footpaths," said one young boy from an artisan family, apparently irritated by the fact. The humble elders of the family quickly interrupted and corrected the manner in which the boy said it.
However, cheesemakers and administrative officials agreed that now at least 20 families produce cheese.
"October last year, upazila administration organised training for 50 people involved in cheesemaking. Among them were marketers and dairy farmers," Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Austagram Harun-Or-Rashid told The Business Standard.
Upazila Livestock Officer, Mohammad Abdul Awal Bhuiyan, said there are about 25 listed cheesemakers in the upazila, but some of them are not in operation since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Growth could have been faster
Artisans said it takes 10 kg milk to make 1 kg cheese, making the product expensive. Understandably, cheese cannot be on the daily diet list of most families in the country. Yet, the industry could grow faster had it not been for the remoteness of the haor upazila.
Although the all weather road has connected three haor upazilas of Kishoreganj, namely Austagram, Mithamain and Itna, it is not connected to the 'mainland,' making cheese delivery time-consuming. Monsoon cuts off these upazilas from nearby towns.
Sourcing milk is also a big challenge. The vast land goes under water and remains inundated for seven months. It is quite hard to arrange feed for the cattle during this period, and prices soar. This consequently impacts the price of the milk which rises to Tk70 to Tk80 during the monsoon.
During the dry season, the cattle can graze in pastures, resulting in a reduced price of milk. Especially, during this season, buffalo herders come from distant places like Mymensingh's Trishal and Valuka upazilas with thousands of buffaloes. Chesemakers strike advance deals with the herders and get buffalo milk at a cheaper price.
Last year, Nishan alone collected milk from a 360-strong buffalo herd, at a rate of Tk50 per kg. Currently, buffalo milk costs Tk100 per kg.
However, as more and more land is coming under crop cultivation, uncultivated land used as a pasture is decreasing fast. Buffalo herders are now moving further north towards Sunamganj as a result, Nishan said.
"Buffalo milk is especially suitable for cheesemaking. There is 6.5 percent fat in it while there is 3 percent fat in cow's milk. As a result, we get 7 kg of cheese from a maund of buffalo milk, and 4 kg from a maund of cow's milk," said the cheesemaker who delivers cheese countrywide.
In Austagram, cows are the preferred bovine. The ratio of buffalo is significantly low.
Why aren't farmers interested in rearing buffalo?
Buffalo needs more food than cows, farmers said. They also need waterbodies to immerse themselves in, which is of short supply in the dry season.
Amid all the challenges, the Austagram cheese industry is seeing a growth, but easy, low-interest loans could have accelerated it, cheesemakers said.
Recently, two banks have started giving loans to cheesemakers at 8% interest without requiring any collateral. Some artisans complained that the interest becomes much higher if they pay back the loan in a higher number of instalments. As a result, they are not interested in borrowing from the banks.
Some NGOs have also taken some initiatives to assist the cheese artisans, and have provided their members with tools and furniture.
A well-coordinated initiative to help the industry can take Austagram cheese far ahead, the locals feel.
