“I had heard of mushroom cultivation but never tried it, so it was new for me and many of us. I thought it was a quick and easy way to make money,” said Rosemary Baghwar, one of the women group members from Golaghat district of Assam.

Seva Kendra Dibrugarh (SKD), a Caritas India local partner for FARM North East program encouraged women to find a way to supplement their income. Traditionally, women stay at home to take care of household chores and males earn the majority of the family’s income. SKD wanted to reverse this thinking and give equal rights to women to earn and live a dignified life. The intention was to empower women so that they could provide additional support to their families.

Team SKD organised the women into groups and assisted them in pursuing some form of income-generating activity. Following a planning meeting, the women formed a 10 member on group and decided for oyster mushroom cultivation. SKD supported them with seeds and other materials required for the entire process. This was possibly the first time the women came together to engage in an income-generating activity as a group, and mushroom cultivation was new to them, said Vincent Xalxo, Coordinator, SKD.

An experienced mushroom farmer from a different project village was invited by SKD to mentor the women group. It was a new experience for the women’s group to learn the process of mushroom cultivation. The group meticulously followed all the steps and activities involved in the processing, such as straw cutting, wetting in lime water, and packing.

The group completed the process successfully and received positive results. They harvested several rounds, which lasted for three months, beginning in April 2022. They have earned Rs. 5,500 so far and expect to earn around Rs 15,000 per month by the end of the programme. They initially struggled with marketing their product; but SKD connected them to the Dimapur market, where they sell their product at a reasonable price. The group intends to grow their business significantly.

Bijonti Indwar, a widow, stated, “As a widow, I have no source of income, and my son earns a daily wage.” I am delighted to be a part of the group and to work for a living.

Other women who are not part of this group are now motivated and eager to participate in such income-generating activities. The program team encourages the group and facilitates other women’s participation for income-generating activities.