Mushrooming interest
MADIKERI: Don’t underestimate the mushrooms. They are having their moment. This is a story about homemakers in Kodagu district. And it is also a story about mushrooms. “I grew up wanting to do something unique,” says Ambika Achaiah, 35, a budding entrepreneur from Cheyyandane village. While Ambika dreamt of starting a unique venture, she was married off after completion of her degree and nearly 10 years passed in managing home and hearth.
Nevertheless, her ambition to achieve something different was reignited when she stumbled upon a radio broadcast about free training for mushroom cultivation in 2019. “I was excited when I learnt of it. I travelled nearly 60 km to Krishi Vignyana Kendra in Gonikoppal to avail the training under the National Skill Development Corporation programme,” recalls Ambika. While she thought that it would last a day, she was shocked to learn that it was a 25-day course. Encouraged by KVK scientist Dr Somashekar, Ambika completed it and received a certification in oyster mushroom cultivation.
Ambika is currently working at the mushroom cultivation lab in KVK and experimenting on different varieties of mushroom cultivation. “I started off with spawn cultivation. But now I am versatile in mushroom tissue culture and the entire process of mushroom cultivation. I have applied for a loan and I will soon set up my own unit at my house,” she says.
While she is involved in developing the popular oyster mushroom variety, she is also experimenting on cultivating the seasonal milky mushroom. Apart from the cultivation process, she trains other like-minded homemakers. “Various women cooperative societies and other self-help groups invite me for motivational talk. I encourage women to take up the profitable mushroom business and I have also provided training for a few women in mushroom cultivation,” Ambika says.
Rashmi Bharadwaj, 40, is also a homemaker. She indulged in gardening – especially in orchid cultivation – as a hobby and sometimes even earned some pocket money. However, it has been nearly two years since Rashmi stepped into the field of mushroom cultivation and today she runs her own unit.
“I run a mushroom cultivation unit on contract basis with KVK in Gonikoppal. It would take nearly Rs 15 lakh to establish a unit. However, it was easier for me to work on contract as I did not have to worry about initial investment. And all the equipment is readily available,” says Rashmi.
After being a homemaker for several years, she started working for a minimum remuneration at a mushroom spawn cultivation unit. But after eight months into this job, she started cultivating oyster mushrooms from scratch and she now sells 100 to 120 harvested oyster mushroom bags per day. “I work from 9 am to 5 pm every day. Apart from the ready-to-cook oyster mushroom bags, I also manufacture Ready To Fruit Bags, which sell like hot cakes among mushroom farmers,” she explains. Ready to Fruit bags (RTF) are mushroom seeded and grown straw bags of oyster mushrooms.
The clients who buy them have to cut out a few holes in these RTF bags and keep them in a well-lit area (not under direct sunlight) and sprinkle water regularly. Oyster mushrooms bloom from these packets, without the risk of any contamination and effortlessly within five to seven days. Another shining example is Lakshmi, 55, who worked as a domestic help and switched many jobs in between even as she worked as a hospital help at daily wages for 25 years until recently. “I worked at a hospital as a cleaning staffer for many years. But I wanted to become self-reliant,” she recalls.
Lakshmi stumbled upon the mushroom cultivation training programme and she found her path to independence. She is cultivating mushrooms on a small scale and has set up her own unit in a single bedroom. “Contamination-free is the key to mushroom cultivation and the business gets profitable only when the set-up is unpolluted. I collect paddy straws from a known people, bake and dry the straw, purchase mushroom growing bags and start spawn cultivation by keeping the bags under the cot – where the temperature is less and visibility is low,” says Lakshmi.
Though she is self-reliant, she says, “I am unable to manufacture mushrooms on a large scale as I lack the required funds to purchase improved facilities. However, I am happy with my small scale set-up, which is better than working for someone.”
OYSTER MUSHROOMS
After White Button, oyster mushrooms are mostly cultivated and consumed across India. These have many health benefits as they are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibres, and low in calories. They are believed to help increase immunity.
WOMEN TURN ENTREPRENEURS
The mushrooms, bought by customers across Kodagu, are not just making for a tasty treat but are enabling entrepreneurship skills among many women. The cultivated mushrooms are sold throughout the year at local markets, and even home delivery is
available on request.