Mushroom Engineer and Agriwaste Millionaire

Dear Reader,

I was in Noida at my parents’ place in May-end to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. When we were leaving, my mother handed me a packet of organic vegetable seeds. She told me they were sure to germinate as they were carefully extracted by experienced growers in her friend’s village. 

My mother’s confidence in the germination of organic seeds reminded me of the many seed savers we have featured on 30Stades over the past five years. In the form of seeds, they preserve our biodiversity for future generations.

After returning, I decided to write about a seed saver and spoke to Shivshankar Chapule from Latur. A nature lover, he began collecting seeds of native trees and herbs from forests in 2020. With a rising collection, Shivshankar quit his job in 2022 to work full-time on native biodiversity conservation. 

So far, he has saved seeds of over 300 types of shrubs, herbs and trees and stores them in plastic jars with Bhimseni camphor, which is pest-resistant. He shares the seeds and saplings free of cost. You can read about his work here.

My colleague Aruna spoke to Satish Mahto last week. A farmer’s son with an MBA, Satish started Feedko in 2016 to connect farmers with buyers, providing them with a steady market. More interestingly, the Jharkhand-based firm also manages 1,500 metric tonnes of crop residue. This can be turned into animal feed, packaging material or pharmaceutical products.

The agripreneur told Aruna about earning a Rs 1 crore turnover last fiscal through agri-waste management. With Feedko, Satish is empowering farmers, managing farm waste and creating employment. 

From Odisha, my colleague Niroj wrote about Tapan Kumar Dalie, who quit L&T Finance in 2020 and began farming paddy straw mushrooms in Jajpur, Odisha. Tapan told him about his initial challenges and how he overcame them, increasing the annual turnover from Rs 20,000 to Rs 70 lakh in five years. 

Tapan sells mushrooms at Rs300 per kg and is also a master trainer, guiding others. Do read this piece to know how this engineer became a successful mushroom entrepreneur.

Our Sunday story is about Kondaveedu, Andhra Pradesh’s 14th-century fort, where wells and tanks store water even today. These ancient forts with elaborate water-harvesting structures fascinate me. I hope you will love reading this piece as much as I did.

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Maharashtra man conserves 300 varieties of native trees and herbs; gives seeds and saplings for free

This MBA clocks Rs 1 crore annual turnover by managing agri waste; empowers farmers with higher incomes

This engineer quit L&T for mushroom farming; clocks Rs70 lakh annual turnover

Kondaveedu: Andhra’s 14th-century fort with wells and tanks that store water even today