© 2023 Dr Margaret Sheppard

Kiri - sour milk production

Kiri is a very popular traditional dairy product. It is made either from cow or buffalo milk and roadside stalls selling it are a familiar sight especially in Southern Province.

It often a family run, small scale business, the small herds of cows being grazed along roadside verges, the cows being hand milked. Then the milk is heated and left to cool to make the kiri (sour milk).

It is sold from roadside stalls in flat, hand made clay pots made by local potters (another small business enterprise). The pot is covered with paper tied with locally made coconut string. These stalls are often run by small traders who have bought the “potted” kiri direct from the small scale  producers.  

Owner with typical small herd that family graze along village verges

Family with their milk in churns ready for cooking kiri. Wife is holding a pot of their kiri

Typical roadside kiri stall. Mother and her son run this stall, buying the potted kiri wholesale from the local producers. The mother took a small loan from her local Janashakthi Bank to start up this small business. (See Section on Janashakthi Bank.)

The wife took a small loan from her local Janashakthi Bank to start up this small business. (See Section on Janashakthi Bank.)