India's 'Mushroom Lady' Also Grows Women Employment In Plenty

Saturday, August 13 2016, 08:38:14

Himanshu Roy

JWB Blogger

India’s ‘Mushroom Lady’ Also Grows Women Employment In Plenty

JWB Post

June 21, 2016

Everyone told her that she had a lucrative career ahead which would take her places. Soon, MNC offers started flooding in and pretty much all the people who knew Divya Rawat were convinced that she would soon be in an enviable position in the corporate industry.

But you will be surprised that what this girl from a small village in Uttarakhand chose to do. She decided to tread on a different path than her peers and ended up growing mushrooms. Yup, you heard it right! Currently, she owns a mushroom business in her village Chamoli in Uttarakhand, which is also providing employment to many villagers.

It was never an easy journey for Divya, who lost her father at a very young age. Since then, Divya waged a lone battle with managing all the responsibilities of the house as well as her studies. At the time when she got the opportunity to work in more than one MNC, Divya felt that she owed it to her village and wanted to do something constructive for it.

As a result, she rejected the job offers and went on to get a post graduation degree in social work from Delhi. It was when she returned to her village, that Divya noticed the immense potential of mushroom farming as a business. Soon, she started growing mushrooms on her farm and selling them to the retailers.

Today, Divya not only has a thriving business but also quite a few awards in her kitty for the commendable work she has done.

Divya feels that mushroom being a cash crop which can be cultivated indoors is definitely an extra incentive. The area required for the production is also much less than conventional crops and the most important fact is that demand for mushroom is more than the supply.

In a very short time, Divya has stirred up a revolution of sorts inside this small village nestled between the mighty Himalayas. Now, farmers from all over the country visit her business to learn her business model of cultivating mushrooms.

Well, thank god those MNC offers couldn’t convince her! Being the bringer of Mushroom Revolution is so much cooler than just another corporate job.