As a child, Pratibha Jha was fascinated by mushroom cultivation, though she never imagined it would become her livelihood one day.

At 15, she married an engineer from Darbhanga and moved to Mirzapur Hansi. Despite challenges, her fascination with mushroom farming continued to grow.

In 2015, she sought training in mushroom farming at Bihar Agricultural University. Even though she faced setbacks and delays in starting the training classes, she kept pushing forward.

With just Rs 500, she started her first batch of oyster mushrooms in a small 10×10 room, earning Rs 1,000 from her first harvest.

When faced with challenges like inconsistent spawn availability, Pratibha learnt how to make mushroom spawn with minimal investment.

She discovered Pusa University in Delhi for spawn training. “I went there for a 15-day training, and learnt how to make my own spawn, which completely changed the game,” she says.

After mastering spawn production, she focused on marketing her mushrooms, but convincing locals wasn’t easy.

By 2016, she started cultivating milky mushrooms. As locals were unfamiliar, she dried them and sent them to Pusa University, gradually building a loyal customer base.

In 2017, local interest grew. She sold mushrooms at Rs 20 per kg, focusing on building trust rather than immediate profit.

By 2018, she started teaching mushroom farming, training over 10,000 farmers. Her sessions became a steady income stream, earning Rs 1,200 per session.

Pratibha’s business now generates Rs 2 lakh per month from training, spawn sales, fresh mushrooms, and value-added products like pickles and snacks.

She supports local farmers by buying their mushrooms at fair prices, creating a mutually beneficial system.