VILLAGE NEWS
More mushrooms have successfully grown in Guptapada, Odisha. One of our self help groups there decided to experiment again after last December’s good results.
Mushrooms themselves are an incredibly healthy food source. They are fat-free, low in calories, and filled with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In fact, mushrooms are the only vegetable source of vitamin D—a critical element for health.
Also, selenium is a mineral that is not present in most fruits and vegetables but can be found in mushrooms. It plays a role in liver enzyme function, and helps detoxify some cancer-causing compounds in the body. The list goes on. Mushrooms contain many more such benefits.
The women had to construct a bamboo polyhouse to cultivate the mushrooms in optimum temperature and ventilation. The investment per mushroom bed is about Rs 30 and then harvested mushrooms sell for Rs 50-60 per kilogram.
Women from the neighbouring village of Nilgiri have expressed interest in learning about mushroom growing having seen the results in Guptapada.