Mushroom business has changed my economic status and our village
Rupa Chaudhary, 50, has spent many years living at Tharu village in Birendranagar-10, Nayagoan, Surkhet. She is a diligent woman who has put up a lot of effort on her farm and in all household activities. She was producing mushrooms in small spaces up to 10 packs and has also grown seasonal and off-season vegetables like cowpeas, okra, and hot pepper, beans, cabbage, cauliflower etc.
Rupa Chaudhary
Birendranagar-10, Nayagoan, Surkhet
Rupa Chaudhary, 50, has spent many years living at Tharu village in Birendranagar-10, Nayagoan, Surkhet. She is a diligent woman who has put up a lot of effort on her farm and in all household activities. She was producing mushrooms in small spaces up to 10 packs and has also grown seasonal and off-season vegetables like cowpeas, okra, and hot pepper, beans, cabbage, cauliflower etc. Although she did not receive outside support, but she is highly interested in growing mushrooms. She completed a one-day training program on mushroom production with the help of USAID’s Tayar Nepal, the Birendranager municipality, and technical assistance from NEST, Pokhara. Additionally, with the technical support from NEST, constructed a six-by-four-meter plastic tunnel, provided a metal drum for steaming straw, and made plastic bags with mushroom seeds for the preparation of mushroom bags.
It was completed in the first week of Ashad, 2081, with a cost of Rs. 40,000, including her contribution. Before the plastic tunnel, the area was dry with seasonal crops based on monsoon. She gets hardly equivalent to Rs. 1000 from cultivating seasonal crops. She currently keeps around 125 bags of mushrooms under a plastic tunnel.
Now, she has received her first product to date, sold 4 kg of mushrooms, and made Rs. 1100 from those sales. In a single season, she hopes to receive 2.5 quintals of total production and earn a total of Rs. 65000. She aims and commits to produce regularly while working under a plastic tunnel, motivating others to start doing so early.

