We will get more and more women trained for Mushroom Cultivation over a period of time to turn this into a sustainable and replicable business model.

By INDIA CSR Correspondent

Women Empowerment is an empty vocation without Financial Freedom and associated Dignity. With empirical evidence substantiating the aforesaid statement, India’s Credible Carbon Management Major- Viviid Emissions Reductions Universal Private Limited launched its larger Social Sustainability Intervention in Kalakudi and Kuruchikulam Villages of Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu with Livelihood Generation for Women as one of the Focal Points. Blossom Trust was chosen as the Intervention Implementation Agency.

Let’s take a close look at the Demographic Cross Section of these two villages clubbed together. There are 1227 women in total, out of which 1064 are Below Poverty Line – a whopping 86%. The Baseline Survey conducted by the Implementation Agency Blossom Trust further reveals that 576 women are illiterate which is close to 50% of the total women in both these villages. Most worrisome is the fact that almost 72% women are subjected to Domestic Violence. These statistics when looked at in conjunction, clearly establish a need-gap supporting the hypothesis with which Viviid Emissions Reductions Universal Private Limited had started the intervention in the first place.

Also Read: CSR: A New Year Gift She’ll Forever Remember

A couple of months ago we had brought out a feature ‘Stitching Fate and Crafting Future’ taking our readers through how skill building initiatives towards tailoring and embroidery are preparing women at both these villages to become self-reliant. Driving the intervention ahead, the latest in the offing has been Oyster Mushroom Cultivation for which women are being trained by eminent resource persons from the Botany Department of Sri. Kaliswari College, Sivakasi. The first session was recently convened at both the villages wherein a batch of 36 women actively participated and learned about the Hanging Bed Method of cultivating Oyster Mushroom.

Elaborating about the process and the benefits that mushroom cultivation will garner for the women, the Master Trainer Dr. M. Murugan, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Sri. Kaliswari College said, “For cultivating Oyster specie of Indian Mushroom, we choose pest and disease free paddy straw 10 to 12 months old. The straw should be fully sundried and cut into pieces 10-15 cm long after which they are stacked in bundles to weigh 1 kg each. The straw bundles should be soaked in water for 12-18 hours to minimize the phenolic content. Thereafter the bundled stacks are boiled for 15-20 minutes to kill pathogens and excess water is drained. Around 60% moisture should be retained in the stacked straw. The bundles should be placed in disinfected polybags forming conical shaped beds.

India CSR — Photo: Boiled Paddy Straw being placed in Disinfected Polybags to form Conical Shaped Beds

Mushroom beds should be hung like a dangler from the ceiling and maintained at a temperature of 25-35 Degrees and Relative Humidity of 75-80%. About 50 grams of Mushroom Spawn (seeds) should be sprinkled on both sides of the Bed up to four layers deep inside the stack. Hanging Beds should be covered with Gunny Bags or any thick dark coloured cloth. Diffused light and good ventilation are necessary for sound development of mushroom beds. Water should be sprayed 2-3 times every day.

Never pour water on the Hanging Beds as that would leave the developing buds completely rotten. First Harvest can be reaped after three weeks from the date of hanging and thereafter 4-5 harvests can be reaped at weekly intervals from every bed that is vertically hung. Dried buds should be scraped after every harvest to ensure good yield. Clean knife or blade should be used to make longitudinal cuts on polybags to induce yet better yield. The shelf life of Oyster Mushroom is 2 days therefore immediate arrangements should be made for selling the fresh yield off in the market.

Also Read: Elected Child Representatives Crack the Whip on Alcoholism

The Beds must be maintained inside a cuboidal Mushroom Shed (24 Feet Long X 12 Feet Wide X 8 Feet High). The Top of the Shed is usually thatched with a 4 feet Sloped Structure. The Fabrication Cost of such a Shed works out to Rs. 50-60 Thousand and its longevity is nearly 5 years. Under such big a shed, around 300 Mushroom Beds can be simultaneously hung. This indeed is a great small scale business opportunity for Women.”

Elucidating the benefits that Women of Kuruchikulam and Kalakudi Villages will be able to reap and further throwing light on the economics of the ensuing process, Mrs. Mercy Annapoorani, Managing Trustee of Blossom Trust said, “One Hanging Bed can yield almost 1 kg of Mushroom in its entirety which could be sold in the market for about Rs. 200. The Cost of each packet of Spawn (Seeds) is Rs. 50. Each Hanging Bed of Oyster Mushrooms requires 2 such packets of Spawn (Seeds). Thus the Cost of Raw Material is Rs. 100 per kg of yield and each woman will be able to get Rs. 100 per kg of mushroom cultivated. Factoring in overheads and spoilage at around Rs. 10 per Kg, each woman will be able to earn approximately Rs. 90 per kg of Mushroom Yield. For 300 such beds of Mushroom that will be cultivated under the Shed, a woman will ultimately be able to earn approximately Rs. 27,000/- per month on an average.

I do understand that one time cost of around Rs. 60,000/- sounds slightly prohibitive therefore we at Blossom Trust will arrange for loan for interested women of both the villages through National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), District Industrial Centre and other Public Lending Institutions under the provisions of Small Scale/ Cottage Industry. We will get more and more women trained for Mushroom Cultivation over a period of time to turn this into a sustainable and replicable business model. We will also provide assistance to the women so that their yield could be seamlessly sold in the market and the revenue model could be streamlined.”

Editor in Chief of India CSR Rusen Kumar stated that “Upholding our commitment towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 17 of supporting Partnerships and Capacity Building, we found this whole concept of Mushroom Cultivation very doable and within the reach, hence we interviewed the Master Trainer Dr. M. Murugan Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Sri. Kaliswari College so that we could elaborate out the process of Mushroom Cultivation for the larger good of our readers to benefit from it. We convey hearty thanks to Dr. Murugan for speaking with us and taking us through the Science of Mushroom Cultivation.”

Also Read: CSR: Rakhi with a Higher Purpose

Speaking with our Correspondent, the Chief Executive Officer of Viviid Emissions Reductions Universal Private Limited Puneet Katyal said, “Women Empowerment is unimaginable without Financial Independence, therefore while devising our Social Intervention in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu we tasked Blossom Trust to carefully factor in Livelihood Enhancement for Women. We are also imparting Entrepreneurial Skills to the women interested in setting up their own venture. Once they get started they will be able to employ many more women and the Cogwheels of Social Sustainability will thus be set in motion. Nothing is more gratifying than seeing Women Entrepreneurs employing other Women within their communities. This is Progressive and Collective Growth. With Women getting Decent Work and Appropriate Wages and their Children learning at School and further at our Assistive Education Centres, the Future certainly is Promising Enough.

Being an Engineer myself, I cannot emphasise enough upon the importance and relevance of Value Engineering. Our Raison d’être is to take People and Planet together. We are managing Carbon Portfolios on behalf of our Clients who happen to be the owners of Clean Energy Projects/ Nature Based Solutions. Complementing these Eco-Friendly ventures with Co-benefits like Women and Child Empowerment, Education for All, Livelihood Enhancement, and Skill Building among several others we are steadily adding Real Social Value, which according to me is Enviro-Social Value Engineering in its truest sense.”