From Labourer to Mushroompreneur

Story

In a small village in Nawada district, Bihar, Anita Devi used to spend her days working as a laborer in others’ fields, earning less than ₹200 a day. Her family of five often had to choose between meals and medicine. But Anita had one thing many didn’t , curiosity.

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In 2021, she attended a KisaanKa field workshop where she learned about mushroom farming a climate-resilient, low-investment farming technique that could be done in as little as a single room. What struck her most wasn’t the technical detail, but the story of another woman farmer who had started with only ₹10,000 and made a sustainable living.

Determined to change her fate, Anita took a small loan from a self-help group and invested ₹15,000 to build a makeshift bamboo shed in her backyard. With basic training, mushroom spawns, and low-cost tools, she began cultivating oyster mushrooms.

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The first harvest came in just 45 days and sold out at the local haat in under 2 hours.

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Word spread quickly. Within 6 months, Anita had added button mushrooms, introduced sun-dried mushroom packaging, and secured a small bulk order from a Patna restaurant. Today, she earns over ₹40,000 per month, employs three women in her village, and has become a local leader in promoting women-led agri-enterprises.

❝People laughed when they saw me growing mushrooms in polythene bags. Now they ask me for spawn and advice.❞ – Anita Devi

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Learnings:

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• Mushroom farming needs very little land and water, making it perfect for marginal farmers.

• Women-led agri-businesses can create local employment and community wealth.

• Basic tech support + microcredit = massive empowerment.