Kodaikanal Hills Cheese Dairy Cooperative Tamil Nadu

Kodaikanal in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu is home to a unique high-altitude dairy tradition that produces natural cheese unlike anywhere else in peninsular India. Swiss missionaries established the Kodaikanal dairy cooperative in the colonial era, introducing Jersey and Holstein cattle to the Palani hills for milk production. The cooperative continues to produce cheddar, gouda, and Kodai original varieties using raw cow milk from member hill farm families at altitudes above 2000 metres. Cool year-round temperatures of 8-17 degrees Celsius allow traditional aging without refrigeration. Cheese production is combined with butter and cream output at the cooperative dairy. Local hill-tribe Palaiyar and Paniyan communities work as cattle herders for cooperative member farms. The Kodai cheese market has become a key attraction for domestic tourists visiting the hill station, and the cooperative supplies to hotels and restaurants across Tamil Nadu.