Churpi, a variety of hardened cheese, is a popular traditional snack in the Himalayan belt of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and parts of northeastern India. Primarily made from yak milk, it can also be made using cow or buffalo milk, and even the milk of chauris, a crossbreed of yak and cow. Arunachal Pradesh is known for its Geographical Indication (GI) tagged churpi made from yak milk.
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Recently, a farmer from the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh has developed churpi made from the milk of mithun — a semi-domesticated bovine species (Bos frontalis) native to Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Mithun has a very limited geographical distribution. An adult weighs between 400 and 600 kg and its productive life ranges from 16 to 18 years. Mithuns produce one calf every year.
Tadang Tamut, who comes from a line of mithun farmers, collaborated with Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) National Research Centre on Mithun (NRCM) in Nagaland, to explore the idea of mithun churpi.
Traditionally, yak churpi is fermented and smoked over several months or even years to develop its characteristic hard texture. Although Arunachal Pradesh is known for yak churpi production, the Siang district, where Tamut hails from, has no native yak population and therefore no tradition of making churpi. Instead, the local community rears free-grazing, semi-domesticated mithuns. Since churpi-making is unfamiliar to them, there is no infrastructure for it in the region. Mithuns are also difficult to milk. So, ICAR-NRCM is stepping in to help the farmers. The first few batches of mithun churpi are being produced in small quantities at their facility using milk from the mithun farm at the institute, with non-traditional methods such as hot air ovens, to the initial development and testing of the product.
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Tamut describes mithun churpi as “milkier” in taste. “Likely due to its high fat content, the new churpi tastes milkier, and fattier,” he says. “So far three batches of seven kilos each have been developed and are currently being sold in packs of 200 grams. They are priced at Rs. 200 per pack,” says Tamut. He hopes it will be popular once it is fully launched in the market, adding that there is already a demand from retailers in Delhi and Karnataka for the product.
ICAR-NRCM is also exploring the possibility of scaling up mithun churpi production, which could bring in lucrative opportunities for mithun farmers in the region.
A mithun mother and calf. While Arunachal Pradesh is known for yak churpi production, the Siang district has no native yak population and therefore no tradition of making churpi. Instead, the local community rears free-grazing, semi-domesticated mithuns. Image by special arrangement.
The free-ranging mithun
Tamut is a mithun farmer who owns 48 mithuns in his village Jomlu Mongku, in the Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. During a conversation with friends from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Tamut was struck by the idea of mithun churpi.
“Nepal generates millions in revenue from churpi made from cow, buffalo, and yak milk. I realised that we could do the same with mithun milk,” says Tamut, a sociology graduate who has been farming since 2005.
According to a report, in the fiscal year 2021-22, churpi exports from Nepal were valued at approximately $22 million, making it one of the country’s top export commodities, apart from tea and carpets. The demand for churpi, particularly as a natural dog chew in international markets, has led to a substantial increase in exports. For instance, in the first four months of the fiscal year 2024-25, Nepal exported 621,747 kg of churpi to the United States, ing for about 90% of Nepal’s churpi exports.
“Traditionally, churpi has been used as a nutrient-dense food by people in the hills. It is valuable because of its long shelf life (around six months) and low moisture content, and it does not require refrigeration,” says Girish Patil, Director of ICAR-NRCM, who has been trying to promote mithun farming as a sustainable source of income for farmers in the state.
“We collaborated with Tamut, who is a progressive farmer and works closely with us. We standardised the product [churpi] in our lab, worked on its production, and conducted sensory evaluations at our institute. The response has been positive, and we are now conducting further analysis,” he says.
This is not the first time that a product has been made out of mithun milk. Due to its high protein and fat content, mithun milk can also be used to make other products such as paneer, ghee, curd, and more. The ICAR-NRCM had previously experimented with paneer and lassi made out of mithun milk, but are now focussing on developing the mithun churpi.
ICAR-NRCM holds a session to raise awareness about the production of mithun churpi in Siang district. The development of mithun churpi holds significant potential to preserve and celebrate India’s rich culinary heritage. Image by special arrangement.
“Currently, we are producing it (churpi) in small quantities. Since drying reduces the milk volume significantly, only about 20% of the solids remain,” explains Patil. Making churpi requires a substantial amount of raw milk; one litre of milk will give 200-250 grams of churpi. “A mithun will give around a maximum of two litres per day, but if farmers are able to collect this milk and have a regular source of income from mithun, then commercial mithun farming is possible,” he says.
What makes mithun milk special?
The mithun, often referred to as “the cattle of mountains,” is an indicator of wealth and social status in the tribal society of Arunachal Pradesh. The larger the herd size, the wealthier and prestigious the owner is considered. It is primarily reared for its meat, considered superior in quality compared to that of other livestock.
It was recognised as a food animal by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) from September 1, 2023. The mithun is also listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
According to the 2019 livestock census, the mithun population in India is approximately 390,000. Most of these, 89.7%, are found in Arunachal Pradesh, with 5.98% in Nagaland, 2.36% in Manipur and 1.02% in Mizoram.
Reared in community forests under the free-range system, mithuns move and browse around the forest, foraging for shrubs, herbs, and other natural vegetation. They are an efficient converter of forest biomass into fat-rich milk; they can eat plants and vegetation found naturally in forests, which many other dairy animals might not easily digest, and turn that food into milk. It also translates to high quality meat and leather.
Despite the fact that mithuns are hard to milk, the high protein and fat content of mithun milk makes it ideal for making not just churpi, but also other products such as paneer, ghee, and curd. Image by special arrangement.
A study conducted by ICAR-NRCM found that mithun milk was rich in essential amino acids, with glutamic acid, lysine, proline, and isoleucine being the most abundant. In addition, mithun milk was found to have a high concentration of vitamins A, D, and E, as well as calcium; about 7.3% fat, 4% protein, and 5.7% lactose; and also a good amount of solids-not-fat — the nutrients left after removing fat and water.
“As compared to milk from other bovine animals, mithun milk contains higher levels of proteins, fats, and essential nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, and different vitamins,” says Rounak Chourasia, a research associate at National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute (BRIC-NABI), in Mohali. Known for his work in developing bioactive peptides-enriched novel soybean churpi cheese, aimed at the socio-economic upliftment of local communities in Sikkim, Chourasia says that fermentation of such a highly nutritious substrate can result in the production of churpi with a high content of bioactive peptides, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), vitamins, and minerals, leading to a novel functional food for the northeastern region of India.
“This vision aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, focusing mainly on SDG 2 (zero hunger), and SDG 3 (good health and well-being). Besides, utilising an unexplored food source in mithun milk can help the socio-economic upliftment of local tribes and communities of the region (SDG 11 – sustainable communities),” he adds.
Tadang Tamut, who comes from a line of mithun farmers, collaborated with Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) National Research Centre on Mithun (NRCM) in Nagaland, to explore the idea of mithun churpi, which could bring in additional income for mithun farmers in the region. Image by special arrangement.
Commercial possibilities and challenges
For Patil, the long-term vision is to make mithun milk a commercial production, like other dairy farms. The ICAR-NRCM has established 120 semi-intensive units in various places in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Since mithuns are primarily raised for meat, and they have economic value only when they are three-four years old, it [mithun farming] has not been able to become commercial. Since there was no existing culture of milking, it took time to propagate this concept among the farmers,” says Patil. By integrating milk production, Patil believes that mithun farming can become a more stable source of income.
Despite being a milch animal, with high quality milk, the consumption of mithun milk is not an accepted practice among its rearers. There are several factors for that. “The challenge is that, firstly, mithuns yield very little milk — hardly 1.5 to two litres a day. Secondly, farmers are reluctant to milk their mithuns,” says Patil.
Meanwhile, Tamut explains that the Arunachali society follows a self-sustaining model of farming, one that prioritises subsistence over profit. Traditionally, agriculture and livestock rearing are guided not by commercial incentives or greed, but by the principle of meeting basic needs. Another reason mithuns have never been milked is their temperament; being free-ranging and semi-wild, they simply do not allow it. “Collecting milk from a mithun is a difficult task,” says Tamut. It takes a lot of effort to go into the forests and milk the mithuns.
Currently, hybrids of mithun and cattle in Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, or jatsham (cows of mithun crossed with cattle) in Bhutan are used as dairy animals.
A close look at mithun churpi. Image by special arrangement.
for mithun farmers
Researchers at ICAR-NRCM are working on providing to mithun farmers. “We are promoting mithun milk farming as a sustainable source of income and helping farmers with infrastructure such as night shelters and housing,” says Patil. Once deemed successful, the plan is to expand mithun milk churpi production to the other northeastern states where mithuns can be found, such as Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Recently, a mithun farmers’ federation was ed with the ICAR-NRCM. Tamut is the president of the newly formed Jomlu Mongku Mithun Farmers’ Federation with 1,015 .
The federation also includes women and actively promotes their participation. “We make it a point to and highlight the work of female farmers,” says Tamut.
One such example is Yapi Mibang, who was felicitated the State Award for Progressive Farmer in 2024 by the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. She hails from Jomlu Mongku village, the same as Tamut. Together with her husband, Mibang rears around 40 mithuns. And according to Tamut, these awards are part of a broader effort to recognise and encourage women farmers in the region.
The ICAR-NRCM has also developed an app called Mithun-Anitra to help farmers market and sell their products online more easily.
The development of mithun churpi holds significant potential not only as a new source of income for tribal communities across Arunachal and other northeastern states, but also as a means to preserve and celebrate India’s rich culinary heritage. As Chourasia states, embracing traditional foods of India’s northeast and investing in novel products like mithun churpi can help bring these indigenous delicacies to the global stage, creating both economic and cultural value.
This article originally appeared on Mongabay. Read the original article here