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Nepal: Taking mushrooms from a taboo to a star item

The Brahmins were historically forbidden to eat mushrooms. A popular proverb reflects this cultural sentiment: "Bahun le chyau khaos na swad paos," meaning, "The Brahmins would know the taste of mushrooms, if they ate them." A decade and a half ago, Gangadhar Sharma of Belbariya, Kanchan rural municipality-1, challenged this taboo by venturing into mushroom farming.

Back then, Nepal produced just 1,530 tonnes of mushrooms annually. This figure grew tenfold to 15,117 tonnes in 2022-23, with mushroom seed production increasing from 268,560 tonnes to 1.15 million tonnes in the same period.

At that time, consuming forest mushrooms often led to fatal incidents, making people wary of mushrooms in general. Initially, selling mushrooms door to door was a struggle, and Sharma could barely sell 3 kg of mushrooms daily.

Today, the business turns over 500 kilograms of mushrooms a day, and earns around Rs3.5 million annually from selling mushrooms and seeds.

Read more at The Kathmandu Post

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