Some graduates are returning to their hometown and venturing into farming. In Trashigang, a 24-year-old graduate has become the first mushroom grower at Bikhar village in Samkhar Gewog. Although it has been a bumpy start without adequate skills, the business is now growing after she acquired some skills earlier this year. She plans to grow oyster mushrooms on large scale.
Tshering Yangzom graduated from the College of Natural Resources in 2020. After studying Sustainable Development, she returned home to start oyster mushroom cultivation.
Initially, the production wasn’t satisfactory due to a lack of skill. But that changed after she attended a month-long mushroom production training organised by the Rural Development Training Center in Zhemgang earlier this year.
Tshering’s mother and grandmother help her to chop straws used as a substrate for growing oyster mushrooms.
The straw soaked in hot water is put inside plastic bags and then they add mushroom spawn in layers inside the plastic bag.
After completing the packaging, the plastic bags are placed into this vacant house used to raise mushrooms. It requires frequent monitoring.
Due to lack of skills, almost half of the mushrooms got damaged last year.
“Last year, I started the works without any training and also because it was my first-time growing mushroom, I could not make much money. I managed to earn only around Nu 13,000. After the training this year, I am expecting to earn more than Nu 20,000,” said Tshering Yangzom.
During the month-long training, she also learned to make mushroom spawn.
Tshering finds growing mushroom a doable job for women as it is not laborious. However, she is challenged with a lack of space to grow the fungus on a large scale.
“Right now, I don’t have a proper space to grow mushroom. I am planning to make a proper space and expand my mushroom business in the coming year,” said Tshering.
Tshering sells the mushroom within the village and a kilogram of the fungus earns her Nu 300. She invested around Nu 10,000 in purchasing plastic and straw to start the business in 2021.
Khangma Mushroom centre in Kanglung provided mushroom spawn and is also going to help her financially in setting up a proper shelter for growing the fungus.
Besides mushroom, Tshering cultivates vegetables as an alternative source of income to run the household.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Phub Gyem
