Dehradun: Starting from successfully running households to heading successful businesses, today's women are not pursued by stereotypes, not bound by gender-bias society and are not chained by the legacy of patriarchy.
Women around the world are going beyond their boundaries, making their own choices, attempting to take bold pragmatic action to bring in a change. Women are being bold for a change, to change lives, not only of their own but those of others too with leadership and innovative ideas.
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From the hilly states of Uttarakhand emerged a story of one such young lady who refused the charm of urban world and resolved to bring in a change in the rural landscape.
Divya Rawat, the mushroom cultivator from Uttarakhand's Dehradun became the first one to devise indigenous ways to cultivate mushrooms and make farming cost effective.
Popularly known as 'The Mushroom Girl', Divya rejected the lucrative offers that fell in her lap to return to her hometown to change the fate of her state which was eventually turning into a 'ghost land'.
Troubled to see the fate of the young immigrants who were forced to move out to the metropolitans in search of livelihood, Divya resolved to change that. After completing her masters, she went back to Uttarakhand and started a business to empower rural people and create business opportunities for many.
"Do businesses differently and do it well," said Divya. She surveyed the geographic situation as well as the market of the state and realised that if the gap in the demand and supply of the mushrooms is met, the mushroom business can make out huge profits.
She, therefore, underwent training on mushroom farming at the National Research Centre for Mushroom, learned the intricacies of it, researched and experimented to start her own business with almost no cash in her hand.
Now an owner of a multi-storeyed mushroom lab, Divya initially started her production with a team of three to four girls and boys in a 'desolate house' of her village that was left by the people who've moved out to earn living.
Divya said that she decided to make mushroom a "household project". She wanted the business to reach out to as many people as possible and wanted to find out a simple process with relatively lesser investment requirement.
"Sometimes the best solutions lie in the simplest things," says she, who found a way of helping people become entrepreneurs with an investment of just Rs. 50,000.
Later, she zeroed down to three specific varieties of mushroom to take advantage of the state's varying temperature. "I have decided to grow three different variety of mushrooms taking advantage of the climatic conditions of Uttarakhand to reduce the need for air conditioners, humidifiers or other temperature controllers. This made mushroom farming more cost effective.”
Button, Oyster, and Milky Mushrooms are most favourable in Uttarakhand climate. These varieties can be grown indoors thus protecting the crop from the natural calamities. Also, Divya used bamboo racks for the vertical cultivation of mushrooms, eliminating the requirement of large space which helped farmers to start with a small room.
Another change she implemented was to start growing various new varieties of mushroom from a processed seed.
Divya has been awarded for her work and received many acclaims at national and state levels. She was also given the prestigious Nari Shakti Puruskar by then President of India Pranab Mukherjee in 2016. The Uttarakhand government also presented the Udyan Pandit Puraskar to her.
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Within years, Divya's mushroom farms became a huge success. Later, with financial support from her family, she started the initiative ‘Soumya Foods Pvt Ltd’, to export her products to different parts of India and abroad.
Divya also addresses workshops on the various agricultural processes to impart hands-on learning to farmers and villagers. People from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab come to learn the art of growing mushrooms. Some migrants are even returning to the village after learning the business model.
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The Mushroom Girl has successfully helped people earn their keep by providing livelihood opportunities. This has led to new employment opportunities to the people of her area. "It has brought about an enormous change in my village and it is spreading to other parts of the state," says Divya.
The Mushroom Girl has come a long way and continues to inspire and aspire people every day while choosing to stay grounded despite the success, just like her 'mushroom'!
