Ankole bull in downtown Kinshasa, Rwanda

 Called the cattle of kings, the ownership of Ankole has traditionally been a mark of prestige, while also providing milk and  meat – particularly during ceremonial occasions.  Although rich in fat,  Ankole milk  is usually skimmed of its cream, which  is then either made into butter or yogurt, or given to other livestock. Because the local meat goat  has poor milk production, goat milk  has never  featured in local diets until the recent introduction of dairy goat breeds

At the Ngozi artisan cheese facility in central Burundi, Ankole cows are used to haul fodder for the dairy goats, and are also milked for cheese production.

Cheese production appears to have been  introduced to the central African region by Italian and Belgian missionaries.  Although exact dates are unclear, this certainly occurred in Burundi and Rwanda by the time the Belgians took over the colony from the Germans in 1916.  After that time, increasing numbers of Belgians and other foreign nationals immigrated into the area in order to follow government, military or commercial interests.  Hence, cheese production went to supply the growing international communities.  Initial production was established in the central highlands of Burundi-Rwanda, where the climate is far more moderate than along the coastal areas of Lake Tanganyika.   

Belgians arrive in Burundi 1916
Arrival of Belgians in Burundi in 1916, following the defeat of the Germans in WWI when their central African colonies were given over to the Belgians to administer
- Collart et Célis

Bugenyuzi Cheese
Charcoal Stoves
Due to tuberculosis, milk is always boiled.  This cheese kitchen uses large charcoal stoves

Today in Burundi, cheese production continues to be organized by missionary groups, including the 'The Little Apostles of Jesus', who built an artisan cheese production center at Mutoi, in central Burundi.  They later developed a similar  cheese center in the neighboring province of Karuzi,whose kitchen and cheese room are show in these pictures.

Both of these installations rely on the purchase of cow milk from surrounding farms, and have also helped to improve dairy cattle farming in their areas.  However, as mentioned above, with the civil war of 1993 and ensuing decade of unrest, the great majority of cattle were lost.  Consequently, while cheese production has continued, it has been on a much reduced scale.

-Bugenyuzi Cheese-
Individual Pressing
One of the stages of cheese pressing at theBugenyuzi cheese facility

-Bugenyuzi-Cheese Room
Cheese room at the Bugeyuzi cheese facility

In the late 1970's, the most ambitious artisan cheese production scheme of central Africa was established by the German development organization GTZ in the north of Burundi, in Ngozi Province.  The project aimed to establish small farmer dairy goat husbandry by importing German Alpine does and bucks and building  an artisan cheese production facility.  For over two decades GTZ worked with Burundian counterparts to establish small farmer dairy goat associations to whom bucks were supplied for crossbreeding with the local goat so that an improved dairy goat breed could be developed.  These small farmers sold their goat  -as well as cow milk to the scheme at guaranteed prices, and the milk was then processed into several different kinds of cheese.

Ngozi Farmer
 Cattle 0-Grazing
Cattle whose milk is sold for cheese production at Ngozi are often 0-grazed and fed by cut-&-carry fodder grasses

Ngozi Farmer2 & Goats
Farmer-to-farmer field visit to a dairy goat farmer who sells milk to the Ngozi cheese project

Ngozi Caprin Toggs & Saanans
Recently-imported Toggs &  Saanens by the Ngozi project

Ngozi Weanlings & Exterior Mangers
First crop of weanlings born at the Ngozi project.  Bucks will go to small farmer dairy goat associations

Cheese Pressing Ngozi
Cheese pressing at Ngozi using light weights

Cheese Pressing Ngozi Stones
Cheese pressing at Ngozi using cement weights that have been specially made

The cheese cellar at Ngozi is about 40' square and can accommodate a variety of cheeses

Cheese Room Ngozi
The cheese cave at Ngozi is about 20 feet underground

Animals are milked once or twice daily into plastic buckets and the milk is first skimmed of cream and then delivered to intermediary merchants, cheese producers, or other distributors by foot or bike.  There are no milk cooling or regular delivery systems in the region.

Marketing of milk and cheese relies primarily on farmer-organized deliveries into urban centers, where it is hawked in markets or sold on to a few butchery and small grocery outlets.

VJ & Improved Dairy Cow-Milk
An improved dairy cow that has just been milked into the blue, plastic bucket

Cheese&Olives
Artisan cheese made in Burundi and in the Eastern Congo  for sale at the 'Boucherie Nouvelle' in Bujumbura, Burundi.  This is the best butchery in the country, making its own olives, feta, and a variety of sausages and other delicatessen items. – in addition to selling central African artisan cheeses

Some of the delicious pates and sausages made by the Boucherie Nouvelle.

Due to the relative importance of goats in rehabilitating small farms in the country, The 'Heart of Africa Goat Rehabilitation Project' in Burundi is working to strengthen  smallholder goat producer associations and is helping to develop sustainable, market-based goat enterprises based on meat, dairy and other animal byproducts.  Key  activities include crossbreeding and herd improvement and restocking with Boer meat goats and Alpine dairy goats, which are crossbred to local Central African Goats through the third generation.

The project also includes training of  goat farmers and animal technicians, as well as assessments of different aspects of the goat sector.  In the future, the project plans to work with peri-urban cattle owners to help develop artisan cheese enterprises and improved milk handling and distribution.

Serge with alpine
Project foundation herd used in the crossbreeding program