At 22, Babita Rawat from Uttarakhand’s Umeral village faced a significant challenge: how to sell mushrooms in a community that believed they were poisonous?

Babita started farming to care for her ailing father at the age of 19. She had to juggle farming and studies to support her family of nine. She took on financial responsibility when her father’s heart issues worsened.

To reduce debt, Babita decided to diversify her crops beyond wheat and pulses. With 17 naali (an acre) of land, she ventured into new farming methods, introducing organic practices and innovative crops.

Mushrooms, especially oyster mushrooms, were considered poisonous by many in her village. But Babita was determined to change these perceptions and bring new opportunities to her community.

“I approached the markets run by local governments and told them about my produce, which I had packaged properly,” says Babita. She directly communicated with customers and addressed their concerns.

Her first sale of mushrooms brought in Rs 1,000. “This worked, and soon, the demand for mushrooms increased,” she recalls.

Mushrooms became Babita’s flagship product. She used stubble, agro-waste, and soybean waste to grow mushrooms, a healthy yet expensive food in India. She started with an investment of just Rs 500.

“I first soak the straw in water for a few hours to soften and remove dirt. After sterilising and drying it, I mix it with the seeds and deposit them in a polybag. After 2-3 weeks, the mushrooms start sprouting. My income from the crop alone is close to Rs 20,000 every cycle,” she explains (as of 2022).

Later, Babita invested in a polyhouse to grow tomatoes, doubling the yield compared to traditional methods. This success proved that sustainable farming could also be profitable.

Soon, she started conducting mushroom farming workshops. Rajni, a local farmer, yielded 12 kilos of mushrooms in her first cycle, earning around Rs 300 for each kilo (as of 2022).

Babita’s workshops gained popularity across the district. As demand for organic seeds and plants grew, she started her own nursery to meet the needs of local farmers, especially women.

For her dedication to organic farming, Babita was awarded the prestigious Tilu Rauteli Award by the state government. Her work continues to inspire farmers to shift from single cropping to multi-cropping.