The camels on Denman Road have become a familiar site to locals, and the Camel Milk NSW story is continuing to grow.
Michelle Phillips had never milked a cow in her life when a conversation with a friend sparked her interest in camel milk.
She started to research the product and became aware of how poorly camels were being treated and before she knew it, she was driving into her Denman Road property with 11 of the animals in her truck.
“I just thought these camels needed to be rescued, people needed to become more aware of why they are here and for me to try and dispel the crankiness that people think they are,” she said.
In the beginning a trainer from Melbourne came and stayed with Mrs Phillips and husband Daniel to work with them and he has provided ongoing support, but there has been a lot of learning on the go and improvising.
“If you have a problem you just work out how to resolve it, we are a bit out of town and there is not a lot of resources on information for camels either,” Mrs Phillips laughed.
“You can’t go to the co-op where you get your feed and pick up a camel rug in where the horse rugs are, they just don’t exist so you just have to think outside of the square.”
This ingenuity has helped see the products produced on site expand from the award-winning milk, to halloumi that has received international recognition, soaps, creams and powdered milk which is much easier to ship nationwide than the bottled product.
Far from just a fad product, camel milk is referenced in the Muslim Quran and records show Cleopatra would bathe in it.
“There are quite a few benefits of camel milk – the main one is that if you are lactose intolerant you can drink camel milk,” Mrs Phillips explained.
“People who suffer from gut issues like IBS or Crones see lots of positive results from drinking camel milk, so do children that are on the spectrum, especially the anxiety part of their disorders.”
Type two diabetics can use camel milk to help control their sugar levels thanks to natural insulin and there are about 15 types of good bacteria found so far in it.
Through passion, ingenuity and a lot of hard work Camel Milk NSW currently have around 60 camels with more due to be born any day.
“I had no expectations six years ago I would be known internationally for our cheese or winning gold in Brisbane and Sydney (for camel milk), or importing machines from America to create powdered milk. So, it has been a very interesting ride to say the least,” the proud business owner shared.
Products are available to purchase form the Denman Road farm and visitors are welcome to book in farm tours to see where the magic happens. Contact Michelle on 0408 677 741 or visit their Facebook page.
