REMEMBER Toti Almeda? That polite, soft-spoken kid off court who was a merciless slasher on court during his heydays as a collegiate player in the Yoo-wap?

Toti played for San Beda in high school and was one of three young Cubs who made it to the Nike Three-on-Three team that was rewarded with a trip abroad and lots of international basketball exposure. In college he played for the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in 2000, wowed a lot of coeds because of his wholesome, boy-next-door charm and captained the team on his last year in 2005. He played for Magnolia in the Philippine Basketball League after college.

Guess what game Toti is playing now.

WOULD you believe he’s a dairy farmer? And not just any dairy.

Toti, his brother Art and father Rene are into goat’s milk production. Their farm—the Alaminos Goat Farm—is the first in the Philippines to produce goat’s milk in commercial quantity. And I’m writing about it because what I learned about goat’s milk’s many health benefits sure was an eye-opener.

Hear this:

Goat’s milk is a very good source of calcium and the amino acid tryptophan.

It’s also a good source of protein, Vitamin A, phosphorus, riboflavin and potassium.

According to proven medical research, It can cure gastric asthma, insomnia, peptic ulcers, jaundice, eczema and colic.

It takes only 20 minutes for goat’s milk to be digested.

Some people who can’t tolerate cow’s milk can drink goat’s milk without any problem because goat’s milk’s PH balance (6.40-6.60) makes it closest to mother’s milk.

It has anticancer and antiantritic factors.

It enhances the metabolism of iron and copper.

Goat’s milk does not form phlegm and is better tolerated by asthmatics and those with allergies.

It contains more chlorine, fluorine and silicon than any other domestic livestock. Chlorine and fluorine are natural germicides and fluorine helps prevent diabetes.

Goat’s milk has the ability to “sweeten” the intestinal tract and alleviate constipation.

Children who grew up on goat’s milk surpass those who did not in terms of weight gain, stature, skeletal mineralization and bone density. 

THE Almedas market their goat’s milk under the brand name Milk Star. A family endeavor, older brother Art (short for Artemus) handles the farm operation, while Toti (short for Artemio) takes care of the marketing and is the brand manager.

 “Things started to improve when Toti, who was then playing basketball in the PBL, decided to go full-time as our brand manager. With the discipline he got from being in sports all his life, he used the same tireless work ethic in marketing our Milk Star brand of fresh goat’s milk,” says Rene Almeda.

“Through networking with friends and relatives, he wove his way around, hitting the Tagaytay Pasalubong Market, then the Los Baños area, then the Salcedo weekend market, then Market! Market!, Tiendesitas and the Lung Center Market in Quezon City. He even made sure we have a strong presence in the gasoline stations along the South Luzon Expressway on weekends.”

Sounds just like Toti weaving his way in and out of hardcourt traffic to get a fix on that hard-to-conquer basket.

“When Toti was just starting to market our milk, he said he used the principle of fishing,” his father continued. “It’s just like going fishing—Toti said. Parang nangingisda lang, subok lang ng subok. Just keep trying and sooner or later, you’ll catch the big fish. The important thing is to work hard and have a plan on how to reach our goals.” 

THE Alaminos Goat Farm was inaugurated on Friday, June 6. The guests were like a Who’s Who in the agricultural and livestock industry and the government, as well.

“Our decadelong experience in the 90s of feeding feedlot cattle from Australia had served us well in our goat dairy project,” says Rene Almeda. “We started raising Boer goats in 2005, and all the experience we gained we applied in feeding our Saanen dairy goats. In May 2007 we started the dairy goat operation. By November we were already starting to produce milk, and by December we were trial-marketing Milk Star in the market.”

Toti’s experience in his new field is proof positive that there is life after basketball. But first, you have to do your homework and have a well-rounded foundation besides just playing ball.

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REMEMBER Toti Almeda? That polite, soft-spoken kid off court who was a merciless slasher on court during his heydays as a collegiate player in the Yoo-wap?