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The origin

Pahadi ghee from Maitoli: who makes it, and how

Not ‘Himalayan’ in the vague sense — a real village, a real family, a real way of making ghee. This is where Buranshvalley comes from.

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The place

Buranshvalley ghee is made in Maitoli — a village in the Berinag block of Pithoragarh district, in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand, at about 6,100 feet. The cows graze in forests of buransh (rhododendron) and oak that give the valley — and our name — its character.

📷 PHOTO NEEDED — Maitoli village / the hillside & forest (replace this caption once the image is added)

The maker

Manju Bhatt

Our founder, Manju Bhatt, is 52 and has spent over 30 years rearing cows. Born and brought up in Maitoli, this isn’t a business she entered — it’s the life she has always lived. Buranshvalley is women-led, and Manju leads it: the same hands that have cared for these cows for three decades make the ghee.

📷 PHOTO NEEDED — Manju Bhatt & the women hand-churning with the mathani (replace this caption once the image is added)

The making

From doodh to ghyuu

We make ghee the way it has always been made here — what we call ghyuu in our Kumauni tongue:

✓ Doodh — fresh milk from grass-fed Pahadi Badri cows.
✓ Dahi — the milk is cultured and set into curd.
✓ Churned by hand — with a wooden mathani and theeki, the traditional bilona way.
✓ Slow heat on wood fire — the butter is simmered gently until golden.
✓ Ready to serve — cooled, filtered, sealed. Nothing added.

📷 PHOTO NEEDED — Ghee being slow-cooked on the wood fire / finished jar (replace this caption once the image is added)

Why it matters

Ghee with a purpose

In these hills, families are leaving for the cities — palayan, the slow emptying of villages. Buranshvalley exists partly to push back: by turning what families here already do best into a livelihood, so they can stay, earn, and raise their children where they belong. A small herd of 9 cows across our households — quality over scale — is the honest beginning of that.

Named, not vague

When we say Pahadi, we mean Maitoli — a place you can point to on a map. That’s the difference between a story and a claim you can check. See our lab report & purity too.

FAQ

Where does Buranshvalley ghee come from?
Maitoli village, Berinag block, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand — at about 6,100 feet in the Kumaon hills.
Pahadi ghee vs normal ghee — what’s the difference?
Normal market ghee is usually from hybrid cows, stall-fed, factory-processed. Pahadi ghee here is from native Badri cows, grass-fed at altitude, hand-churned the bilona way — different source, different result.
Are ‘A2 ghee’ and ‘Pahadi ghee’ the same?
Not quite. A2 describes the milk protein/breed; Pahadi describes the hill origin. Our ghee is both — A2 (Badri) milk from the Pahadi region.
What is ‘ghyuu’?
It’s the Kumauni word for ghee — made here the traditional way, from curd, hand-churned and slow-cooked.
Who makes the ghee?
A women-led group led by founder Manju Bhatt, who has reared cows in Maitoli for over 30 years.
What does ‘Pahadi’ really mean here?
Of the hills — specifically Maitoli, with named Pahadi Badri cows, not a vague ‘Himalayan’ label.

Keep exploring

Go deeper into ghee

Ghyuu from Maitoli, made by hand

Pahadi Badri cows, the bilona way, by the women of one Uttarakhand village.

Shop the A2 Bilona Ghee
Why it’s pure