Dhankuta, July 14 -- Every morning, Shiva Bahadur Basnet of Dandagaun, a hill settlement in Dhankuta's Mahalaxmi Municipality, sets out across his village to collect milk. The rest of his day is spent boiling the milk in large vats, stirring it for hours to make kurauni (caramelised milk fudge), packaging the products, and delivering them to customers.

After serving 17 years in the Nepali Army, Basnet chose not to rely on his pension or seek foreign employment. Instead, he transformed his family's traditional livestock farming into a modern dairy enterprise.

Today, his dairy processing business provides employment not only for his family but also for local residents. The kurauni produced at his plant is sold in Dhankuta as well as Kathm...