The humble mushroom has transformed one sleepy hamlet in Odisha’s Sundargarh district into a hub of cultivation.
What five women of the Bhuiyan tribe began three years ago has now blossomed into a wave of mushroom cultivation by several self-help groups (SHGs).
Selling mushrooms can fetch up to Rs 20,000 a month for these tribal women, giving them incomes that their paddy never achieved. Ketaki Kalo, former president of Tulsi SHG, admits, “Though we still sell paddy from our fields, the mushrooms in our backyards are our top priority.”
The self-help groupssell mushrooms at Rs 280 per kg in the area, though the price escalates to Rs 400 in Sundargarh town.
Selling mushrooms can fetch up to Rs 20,000 a month for these tribal women, giving them incomes that their paddy never achieved, says Ketaki Kalo of the Bhuiyan tribe
Dr Laxmipriya Pradhan, senior scientist of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sundargarh, says, “Trained by us in 2019-20 for five days, Om Namah Shivay SHG pioneered the cultivation of pala chhatu (Volvariella volvacea or paddy straw mushroom). All six tribal women SHGs here have now gone for it.” The Krishi Vigyan Kendra sells seeds at Rs 20 per bottle.
The mushrooms are so named because they are grown on paddy straw. They take a mere four to five days to mature and some women’s groups set up 10-15 beds daily to produce nearly 320 kg.
“Earlier they would throw away the paddy straw collected from their fields. Now, they utilise it to grow mushrooms,” Pradhan tells theindiantribal.com. For the tribals, it’s a waste-to-wonder venture.
