How Adani Foundation is Empowering Women through Mushroom Cultivation in Jharkhand’s Godda

Adani group through its CSR arm Adani Foundation has been empowering women farmers through mushroom cultivation in Jharkhand’s Godda. These women, most of whom were living below the poverty level in remote rural areas of Jharkhand, are now self-sufficient, running their households through their income and beaming with confidence. Adani Foundation through its training programmes has been encouraging these women to take up mushroom cultivation, thereby bringing about a positive change in their lives.

The story of Vinita Jha

For Vinita Jha, taking care of her family of eight had been a challenge. Vinita’s husband, a farmer, works for more than nine hours every day and she herself used to work as a sewing trainer, while running the household. “We have been struggling for months, and finally, I decided to take up another job to add to my family’s income,” she said. “That’s when one of my neighbours told me about mushroom cultivation. I had no idea about it. So, I thought of giving it a try.”

Three months ago, Vinita attended a training programme where a team from Adani Foundation encouraged women to take up mushroom cultivation. Vinita has been growing mushrooms since then. “I have been earning Rs 5,000 every month,” said the 48-year-old resident of Dumaria village.

With an aim to augment the income of women living in the villages of Jharkhand’s Godda district and making them self-reliant, Adani Foundation has been running a programme to spread awareness about mushroom cultivation.

Sabnam Kumari’s journey

“The training session was held for two days. We were told about various aspects of mushroom cultivation, including the financial aspect. We were taught how to grow mushrooms, pack and sell them. There are mainly three kinds of mushrooms — milky, oyster and button mushrooms. The cultivation of oyster mushrooms is easy and economical. It is tasty and has a lot of medicinal properties. The best thing is that these mushrooms can be sold dry,” said Sabnam Kumari, from Baksara.

“I am a teacher at a private school here. After attending the training session, I started growing mushrooms to support my family of five,” she added.

What inspired Lalita Devi

For Lalita Devi, a homemaker, mushroom cultivation has been an important step towards self-reliance. “I have two children and my days would revolve around them. Now, I go to the market almost every day and sell mushrooms. This has given me a new direction in life,” said the Baksara resident.

A bag of mushrooms weighing about 2 kgs costs Rs 50. By selling it, one can earn a profit of Rs 200-300 a day, one of the trainers said. “This means an average income of up to Rs 6,000 a month,” he added.

According to Adani Foundation officials, these training sessions have been held in villages across Godda district. The programme targets to impact about 500 women and connect them to local markets for selling mushrooms.

How Sindhu Devi’s life changed

Sindhu Devi from Dumaria said she works as a tailor, but her family’s income is not sufficient. “I have three sons and one daughter. I attended the training session organised by the Adani Foundation and thought of trying my luck with mushroom cultivation. It was a good decision,” she said adding that her income has increased by about Rs 5,000 per month.

Pushpa Devi’s story

Pushpa Devi, another Dumaria resident, said she enjoyed the training session. “It was very interesting. I got to meet many people from my village. It was a great experience,” said the mother of six.

In the past few months, more than 300 women from several villages close to the Adani power plant in Godda have been trained and most of them have been earning up to Rs 6,000 a month. “I visit the local market three days a week. On most days, I manage to sell my entire stock. Dry mushrooms have a lot of takers because they are easy to transport and store. I am glad I attended the training session organised by Adani Foundation,” Pushpa said.