Mr. Satheesh, Palamuttath is a gulf returnee hailing from Chunakkara panchayath. He had been working in an Engineering firm in the Gulf for the last 22 years. He decided to enjoy the rest of his life at his own home town by selecting a suitable and peaceful Agri based enterprise. The enterprise attracted him the most was the production of ‘God’s food – the mushrooms’. Short duration nature of the enterprise attracted him more.
After reaching back home, he approached the KVK to know the services rendered in the field of mushroom. He attended the hands on training on mushroom production at KVK in 2018. Based on the knowledge acquired, he started mushroom cultivation using the inputs received from the KVK as part of the training. After gaining experience in the field, he constructed a shed of 300 m2 in his homestead. As paddy straw is not easily available in his area he used rubber saw dust for the mushroom bed preparation. The substrate is disinfected by steaming by a specially designed steamer using spent saw dust as fuel which ensures organic mushroom production.
The purely organic produce is being sold as ‘Q fresh Organic mushroom’. By the sale of 125 – 150kg fresh mushroom, he is realizing a net monthly income of Rs. 20,000/-. Through this enterprise he could get about 130 – 140 man days of employment per year. Considering his efforts and success in mushroom farming, Chunakkara Krishi Bhavan, recognized him as ‘the best mushroom grower’ of the panchayath, for the year 2019.
