Her mega mushroom bucks

Divya Rawat from Uttarakhand is known as Mushroom Lady. The girl in her twenties is engaged in training young men and women of the state in mushroom cultivation. An Amity College, (Noida) pass-out, Divya took up her first job with an NGO in Delhi. But that was her last job too. She decided to return to her Chamoli (Garhwal) home and work for creating jobs.

Four years back, Divya started small mushroom production units at her native Kot Kandara village in Chamoli. Today she trains more than 1,000 women every year in mushroom cultivation. Divya says the crop is ideally suited for the climate of the state and could be a game-changer in the hill economy. “For its nutritious value, mushroom is in big demand both in and outside Uttarakhand. However, the state gets a large amount of the crop from other states”, she says. “Mushroom fetches a good price. On an average, one can get at least Rs 200 for a kg of button mushroom in retail market, which reveals how much lucrative this business is.”

Setting up a mushroom plant is easy and does not require much money. “It requires a shed and bamboo racks. It needs no power or any machine. “It is a home-based industry.”

The biggest challenge in Uttarakhand is the migration of its youth to other cities. But Divya has reversed the trend. Many villagers who left their houses have started returning and have taken to mushroom cultivation. Most of the abandoned houses have now been put to use for stocking and nurturing of mushroom. The state government recognized Divya’s hard work and has appointed her as brand ambassador for promotion of mushrooming. Divya has also been awarded by the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan.