Go Baladi is a new venture leading Natural and Organic Goat dairy, producing authentic and innovative products in a Sustainable Ecosystem enhancing ecological, social and economic values of the community.

DID YOU KNOW?

An organic line of goat dairy products is produced from the local goats you see on your trips to Lebanon’s remote rural areas?

WHAT’S THE INNOVATION?

GoBaladi produces a conventional and a certified organic goat dairy products range (including local essentials such as laban, soft labneh, halloum, double crème and milk) made from local goats’ milk.

Working with local goats to produce a diverse line of dairy products had never been done before and came with challenges but GoBaladi persevered because they believed in a sustainable ecosystem.  For example, local goats only produce milk from March to September and so GoBaladi got techniques which are applied on European goats to make them produce milk yearlong and applied them to the local goats used for the conventional line (it is against the regulations of the organic certifications to interfere with the goats’ habits).

GoBaladi also worked the local goat farmers- who are mainly uneducated and with little resources-on best hygienic practices and on how to increase the yield and improve the quality of milk in natural way.

Contrary to industrial farmed goats (which stay inside the farm all the time), GoBaladi’s local goats are for the most part free range meaning they roam the pristine hills on GoBaladi’s land in Mount Sannine and feed on the grass there (in the organic line, the goats are 100 percent grass fed while in the conventional it is 60 percent grass fed and 40 percent feed).

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND THE INNOVATION?

GoBaladi started producing organic labneh balls with oil- the traditional goat dairy product- since local goats are by nature free range (feed on grass all day) they were conducive to such a project.

They then got a lot requests to expand on their organic and local goat dairy products line and so they identified a market need for goat products in general, and for organic goat products specifically.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Goat dairy products are healthier than cow dairy products that tend to be mass produced and have additives. Those with a lactic intolerance can safely consume goat products.

There is a growing demand for organic products in the Middle East as health conscious consumers increase and GoBaladi is the only organic dairy producer in the Middle East.

WHO IS BENIFITTING?

GoBaladi is giving farmers in rural areas consistent economic opportunities and introducing them to technology to improve their production and the quality of their milk. Through yearlong breeding these farmers can now make money in the winter as well.