More than 300 cattle are producing milk at a center in Lhundrub county in the Tibet autonomous region as a way to boost villagers' earnings.[Photo/China Daily]

Villagers in the Tibet autonomous region are being raised out of poverty by an innovative cattle project.

The 259 households in Gyadrong, Lhundrub county, jointly operate a milking center.

"The local government and the county's alleviation office together invested 3 million yuan ($488,900) in 2013 to establish a feeding base and purchase 312 head of cattle," said Yontan, director of Lhundrub's Science and Technology Bureau and head of the local animal husbandry and veterinary station.

"The 259 impoverished households were chosen to be the direct beneficiaries of the project."

The residents operate the farm as a team, and eight villagers are employed as cowherds.

Feeding the cattle as a group maintains the sustainability of the project, Yontan said, adding, "The government aimed to lift these rural residents out of poverty."

Cowherd Losang Drakpa, 31, works at the center alongside the other seven farmhands.

He works 12 hours a day on average, and his duties include transporting fodder, feeding the cattle and cleaning the cowshed.

"I have been working here for 16 months and am very pleased to work in a place that is very close to my home," said Losang.

His family owns a cow, and like most of the cattle at the center it produces an average of 15 liters of milk a day. Losang said his family earned more than 10,000 yuan from the project last year.

Yontan said the villagers do not have any problems marketing their milk, as they have signed a long-term contract with a large dairy company in Lhasa, the region's capital.

Other cowherds said they earned 10,000 yuan from selling milk last year, and some made more than 20,000 yuan.

"An average salary of 2,000 yuan is paid to each cowherd, and our accommodations and food are provided by the center," said Losang.

"This job is more comfortable, safer and more enjoyable than working on a construction site or doing other work."