Nineteen years ago, Sukhpal Kaur, at the age of 35, lost her husband. But she still had two young sons and a family to support.Today, at 54, she has a dairy herd valued at more than Rs 70 lakh, an enterprise that generates over Rs 50 lakh annually, adequate savings, and a livelihood that employs two permanent workers.She has enough to live on and hasn’t lost her passion to keep building.A resident of Guradi village in Budhlada tehsil, Mansa, Sukhpal has turned dairy farming into more than a means of livelihood. It has become her business, her financial independence and, even at 54, the work that she still wants to do.With an intermediate education, she has also acquired years of practical experience in managing cattle. She understands their feed requirements, monitors their health and nutritional needs, and keeps track of their disease.At present, her herd has around 40 cattle — 26 adult animals and 14 young ones, including Murrah and Neeli Ravi buffaloes, and Punjab and Himachal Jersey cows.For Sukhpal, they are not simply livestock. They are assets that she has built over years of work.Story continues below this adSukhpal said, “I sell 150 to 200 litres of milk daily currently, which increases to even 300 litres during some months of the year, supplying households as well as village dairy channels. The rate I get is around Rs 80 to 85 per kg.”The dairy generates approximately Rs 50 lakh annually from milk sales. After feed, labour, and other expenses, she says she retains around 50 per cent of the sales value.Two permanent workers assist her with the dairy.She owns around 12 acres of familial land and keeps only about one acre of her land for green fodder, while purchasing most of the remaining fodder. Feed management remains one of the major costs of the enterprise, she says.Yet she considers the dairy profitable and increasingly valuable for another reason. “The animals themselves have become a substantial asset.” Most of her well-maintained adult cattle could fetch Rs 3 to 4 lakh each if sold today.Story continues below this adHowever, she says she is not looking to cash out.“My focus now is on retaining animals and expanding the herd. That marks a change from my earlier years, when livestock sales were an important part of my income. I would sell around six animals a year, earning approximately Rs 12 to 13 lakh from livestock sales, apart from milk income.”After she lost her husband, she started her journey with only a couple of cattle, which they had as a couple.Managing a large dairy alongside farming became difficult, so she leased out around 11 acres of her agricultural land, earning around Rs 6 lakh annually from the lease rent.Story continues below this adThe land could have provided her a relatively secure livelihood. “But I chose dairy farming over agriculture; I love being among them and taking care of them,” she said.She does not describe work as something she needs to escape from after accumulating enough assets. For her, continuing to earn and build is part of remaining independent.One of her sons has been working in Canada for the past seven years, while the other runs a travel business in India. “My sons are very supportive, but still I want to work.”She says, “Their independence has not changed mine. I manage my dairy, maintain my savings and earn my own income.”Story continues below this ad“I want to be a giver, not a taker,” she says.Sukhpal also says she has never made government financial assistance the basis of her livelihood, has not sought enrollment in monthly-benefit schemes, and has never travelled free on a bus despite the government’s scheme of free travelling in public vehicles.Women must not take pride in getting Rs 1,000 per month from the government but should first overcome their own idleness, she says.Sukhpal believes every rural woman should have an income of her own — not necessarily through a job, but by creating self-employment. Even two cows or buffaloes can be the beginning of a dairy that grows into a herd of 10 within a few years; where that investment is difficult, even two goats can provide a woman with her own income and lead to a huge expansion in a few years.Story continues below this adShe believes livestock can also give children fresh milk and milk products, which mitigates several types of malnutrition, while involving them in productive dairy work after studies can keep them away from excessive social media use, idleness, and harmful influences, including drugs.For her, self-employment is ultimately about a woman earning for herself, strengthening her family and giving her children a better direction in life.“If you are not working anywhere, create work for yourself. Start small, protect the asset, reinvest, and grow.”