FRIENDS OF ANIMALS
In India, more than 70% of rural families raise goats, but veterinary care is often unavailable or unaffordable in rural areas. To address high goat mortality, a program supported by the Gates Foundation in the state of Bihar trains women to provide critical veterinary services. Called pashu sakhis, (pronounced pah-shoo sah-kees), which translates to “friends of the animals,” these women have dramatically improved goat health and survival.
Tens of thousands of pashu sakhis in India have used their newfound skills to start businesses. One of them, a goat-rearing company called Mesha Mahila Bakaripalak Producer Company, has an all-woman board and 3,000 women shareholders.
PART OF THE FAMILY
In Pashu Sakhi households, goats are part of the family. In colder months, goats are adorned in hand-me-down clothes from the women’s children.
Image: Pashu Sakhi Ragini Devi (right) and a viallger in Bihar
CELEBRATING PASHU SAKHIS IN ART
Madhubani painting is a folk art in Bihar traditionally practiced by women. Today, women are reinventing the form to tell stories about their contemporary lives and aspirations. To create this piece, commissioned for the exhibition, local Madhubani artist Shani Devi worked with a group of pashu sakhis to record and celebrate the many aspects of their work.
Image: Madhubani artist Shanti Devi working on the painting on view at the Discovery Center.