First ever camel farm

It is the first and only camel farm operating in Bangladesh. The farm started with 10 camels in 2004; now it has 36. The owners established the farm on an acre of land in the heart of Dhaka - in Kamalapur. A Sufi spiritual leader, Hajrat Shah Dewanbagi, is the owner. The camel farm is known as “Bab-e-Modina Dewanbagh Sharif.” The reporter visited the farm on Thursday and talked to the management about their work. Dewanbagi’s brother Mojibur Rahman, who manages the farm, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have a plan to sell two or three camels for this Eid.” “Because prophet Muhammad used camels for transport and he drank the camel’s milk, the nurturing of camels is Sunnat,” Mojibur explained. “Our country’s environment is not suitable for camels. So we got challenge believe of Allah that is it possible to farming them. Allah made us success. Now here 36 camels are farming. Farmhand Ashraful Islam told Dhaka Tribune that 10 people took care of the camels. “All the staff got training based on their practical experience. If they face any problem they contact the veterinary doctor,” he said. Among the 36 camels in the farm, 15 are large, 10 are of medium size and 11 are small. Three camels give five to six litres milk daily which is sold at Tk400 per liter. In any year, three to four camels will give milk. “The milk has medicinal quality,” Mojibur said. “It is a cure for gastroenteritis, jaundice, spleen disease, tuberculosis, asthma, anemia and piles. So there is a huge demand for camel milk,” he added. Asked about the food habit of camels, Ashraful said camels ate the same kind of fodder eaten by cattle. The cost for a camel’s food is about Tk3,000-5,000, he said. Farmhands said every day from across the country, visitors come to see the camels. Many visitors purchase the milk.