A FACTORY to process goat's milk is slated to start operation early this year in Mocho, Clarendon. The project is the collaborative work of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Inter-American Institute of Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), the latter providing the estimated $20 million funding. The importation of 50 Alpine breed goats to cross-breed with local goats for the milk production will initiate the venture which already see the purchase of some 25 local goats. Forty-five farmers will be the recipients of milch goats sold to them at a reduced cost. The long-term vision of the factory, according to Sheep and Goat Development Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Derrick Vermont, includes the production of cheese, ice cream, yogurt and soap for the local market. Last year Farmers Weekly carried a story indicating that toilet soap manufacture from goat's milk has become an extremely popular choice in North America, especially in Canada, among mainly babies and women with delicate, sensitive skins. Described as "an ancient legacy of life" by one manufacturer of goat's milk soap, goat's milk has long been known as a rejuvenator and a moisturiser of the human skin. It is the only milk containing capric-cappryllic triglyceride that moisturises the skin contributing to its supple softness. The Mocho project will seek to produce goat's milk soap for the local market but the possibility for export will undoubtedly be endless.
