Kashmir Farmer Grows 20 Sheep Into 500, Earns $1,200/Month

When Mumtaza Begum's government job dreams faded after marriage and motherhood, she didn't wait around. She bought 20 sheep in 2018 and started an experiment that would change everything.

The 33-year-old from Matrigam village, Kashmir, had prepared for recruitment exams and hoped for stable work. But household duties and raising children shifted her path, so she looked for something she could build from home.

Sheep farming made sense. Weddings, festivals, and daily consumption created steady demand, even if neighbors questioned whether a woman could handle what they saw as men's work.

Mumtaza learned by doing. She figured out feeding schedules, breeding cycles, health issues, and market timing without any formal training, caring for every animal herself.

Three years in, support arrived through the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme. The government gave her 50 sheep, a subsidy, and help building a proper shed in 2021.

She reinvested every rupee she earned. The flock grew slowly but steadily through daily attention and smart management, reaching around 500 sheep by 2024.

Kashmir's landscape helps her business thrive. For nearly half the year, her sheep graze in forest areas near Harmukh under traditional seasonal grazing rights, cutting feed costs significantly.

The Ripple Effect

Today, Mumtaza's farm generates about Rs 1 lakh (roughly $1,200) in monthly profit after all expenses. Three full-time workers depend on the farm for steady income, with additional help during busy seasons.

The impact stretches beyond her own family. "I am helping other families," Mumtaza says, noting that the children of her workers now have access to better education because their parents earn stable wages.

What started as a small attempt to stay productive at home became a thriving business that lifts up an entire community, one sheep at a time.