Camel Charisma

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Camel Charisma is an initiative by Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan that strives to support the local com

Camel Charisma is a social enterprise that has the goal to develop, promote and market environment friendly products from the camel. Camel Charisma has been inspired by the experiences and close connection of Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan with Rajasthan’s camel pastoralists. It was set up as an outcome of a project by Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan to revive Rajasthan’s camel husbandry for creating sus

tainable rural livelihoods in semi-arid and arid areas. Over the last couple of years, a range of products have been developed from camel milk, camel wool and camel dung. A unit to produce “biocultural paper” has been established on the LPPS campus and has just begun production.

03/09/2026

You like milk and dairy products...but you feel bad about it because you care for animals? Yes, and you ought to ! Because in general, calves are immediately separated from their moms and they never get to see each other. But a Camel Charisma we have designed a system in which calves are always with their mothers and camels have a natural life. Moreover they forage on 36 plants that are known for their medicinal value and are mentioned in the Ayurveda. This system is entirely built on the ancient knowledge of the Raika, with the addition of a few modern measures for hygiene.
By ordering and asking for our products, you actively support the Raika and camel conservation. And without a market for our cruelty-free milk, the camels and the ancient camel culture of which they are a part, will quickly vanish.

13/08/2026

Camel Charisma in the Mongolian steppe exchanging products and recipes with local herders....Our feta and cream cheese were amenable to local palates, and the milk of the two-humped Bactrian camels tasted delicious! More to come!

19/06/2026

Our founders Hanwant Singh Rathore and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson are currently in Ethiopia sharing many of the lessons they have learnt about camel dairying and other camel value chains with camel milk producers, traders, officials and researchers, both during workshops and interactions in the field. There is huge interest in our cheeses, ghee and other products, as well as tourism and our ethical dairying approach in which calves are not separated from their moms.
Now the team is in Adama near Addis with the Karrayeh pastoralists, but will visit other parts too. Stay tuned!

15/02/2026

What a wonderful exposure and our products were given during the at the Fort in Jodhpur, thanks to the active support of the royal family! We were grateful that HH Maharaja Gajsinghji of Marwar-Jodhpur (Bapji) stopped by after the release of his biography 'The King who would be Man' published by and stocked up on our camel cheese!
The wonderful Sufi music provided an appropriate background and during the breaks people crowded around our to taste camel milk tea and learn about the threatened status of the Camel in Rajasthan.

13/12/2025

So proud of the Godwar Raika and Camel Charisma winning the Wildlife Tourism Community Initiative of the Year Award yesterday at a function at Bikaner House!

25/10/2025

On a fact finding mission about Kenya's camel dairy sector together with my old friend and dear colleague, Dr. Jacob Wanyama and cheese making expert Anne Bruntse, meeting many old friends and making new ones. And the camels were all extremely affectionate, testifying to their good treatment!
For the Samburu, camels are an assurance against drought and especially important for women who milk the camels and allot the milk within the household.
At Conservancy, they add an ecological component and there are big plans to promote camel dairy. John and Amanda Perret deploy their camels for trekking, taking care of the herd that was established by Amanda's father, Jasper Evans. In Nairobi we learnt from Tahira Mohamed and Ilona Gluecks that the Kenyan government has greenlighted the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Camels.

03/09/2025

Such a fountain of wisdom! Yesterday, Bhanwarlal Raika from Mallari dropped by to pick up some medicines for his two camel herds and regaled us with snippets of his wide ranging knowledge. About the couple of thousand camels that used to be here in the vicinity some 40 years ago when he was a little boy, about how he used to spend 10 days in a row staying in the jungle existing only on camel milk. Most interestingly, he said that then leopards kept a distance and were no danger, and that their behaviour has now changed due to the practice by tour operators/hotels to tie up goats to attract them. He said that now leopards are no longer afraid of humans and would soon start going into villages.

Another interesting topic was the role of Raika women who handle all financial matters and manage all sales, from manure to live animals.

I most appreciated that he rejected stall feeding of camels and other livestock as promoted by scientists. Such animals were neither happy nor healthy and he used the term 'azad pashu' (freedom livestock) for pastoralist animals. He reminisced that earlier land had no value and that pastoralists were much better off and more secure than farmers.

And endearingly, he talked about his sons who have been to school, but want nothing but being with camels!

There is hope for camels then!!!

P.S. n the video he is holding up a copy of my book Camel Karma which has his photo in it, taken maybe two decades ago.

06/08/2025

Today we hosted a veterinary camp at the monsoon home of our camel herd that was attended by some neighbouring herds as well, totalling well over hundred heads..which indicates that our camel conservation work is going well. Without Camel Charisma there probably would not be a single camel in the vicinity!

We are grateful to the doctors and compounders of the Government of Rajasthan's Department of Animal Husbandry who gave prophylactic injections against surra/trypanosomiasis and took blood samples from all female camels to check for brucellosis and tuberculosis. Important for the quality of our milk!

The lovely ladies in the last photo cooked a great lunch for the 20+ animal health care specialists. The camels themselves, while often protesting loudly in their typical screeching/wailing voice, were remarkably laid back and relaxed, despite experiencing much delay in going on their daily foraging tour.

A useful therapeutic morning!

24/05/2025

The AAK LEAF RITUAL!

Nobody can resist drinking freshly milked camel milk served in a self composting cup folded from a leaf of the Aak Tree (Calotropis procera) by a gracious Raika host!

Without this incomparable taste experience a Rajasthan trip is just not complete!

It puts you into a Sufi mood where life is just chill .

The taste of the milk varies with the season depending on the camels' diet. But it's always unforgettable!

By going on a chaifari, you don't just have a story to tell your grandchildren, but do your bit to save Rajasthan's threatened camels and support the mobile Raika herders who take care of them.

Link in bio

21/05/2025

It's time for an appreciation post for the remarkable international set of entrepreneurial women who support us at Camel Charisma with ideas and actions!

1.Sabrina Schulz , expert on ecology, pastures and fund-raising
2. Augusta de Lisi of , our partner in cruelty-free snacks and chocolates
3. Sapna Bhatia ,founder of Kaner Retreat who is an ardent promoter of our cheeses
4. Anna Weiss, .anna.weiss, a design guru who leads our camel cosmetics project
5. Daniela Vyas who works on developing a Camel Wellness experience.
6. Last, but definitely not least, Kate Hardy , a creative designer who has contributed enormously and stylishly to our work over the years.

WE ARE ENORMOUSLY GRATEFUL! And of course there are many others of whom we do not have photos at hand or who prefer to remain unnamed.

Address

Pali
306702

Telephone

+919784810434

Website

http://www.camelcharisma.com/

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