A group of people in Chong-Geykha-Dophulakha Chiwog in Phuentshogling Gewog finds new hope as they venture into oyster mushroom cultivation. Among the members of the oyster mushroom cultivation group are mainly unemployed youths and the elderly who can no longer work on farms. The members took their first harvest to the market recently.
Some 30 members of the group gather in the mushroom shed in their village to prepare the mushroom blocks. They layer the paddy straw in the plastic bag and then sow the mushroom spawn.
The group harvested over 20 kilogrammes of mushrooms and took the mushrooms to the markets in Phuentshogling. This motivated the members to work harder.
The group expects to earn more than Nu 40 thousand monthly from the sale of the mushroom.
The Mushroom Cultivation Group’s chairman, Jas Bdr Chhetri said, “It does not take long for the mushrooms to grow. Moreover, the work is very little in cultivating oyster mushrooms. After preparing it, we just have to water it, once in the morning and once in the evening.”
Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women or RENEW helped the group explore the market.
The group was trained by the RENEW in collaboration with Fida International in May last year.
The RENEW officials initially targeted youths and later elderly residents joined the youths.
Phuentshogling Gup, Birkha Bdr. Rai said, “Until now, we haven’t given such training to our villagers. RENEW had initiated the training and it has been fruitful. We are grateful to RENEW. We are planning to expand mushroom cultivation in the village.”
RENEW officials said they provided training to strengthen the livelihood and explore income generation possibilities for vulnerable communities and out-of-school youths.
