Oyster Entrepreneur & Forest Waterholes

Dear Reader,

What do you expect a gold medalist in botany to do? Take up a cushy corporate job or become a professor or researcher. Right? Trupti Bhushan Dhakate did all of this before she decided to follow her passion for growing oyster mushrooms. 

However, her high academic score and knowledge did not help her in marketing the first batch of mushrooms she cultivated in 2018. Trupti told me that after returning empty-handed from various vegetable markets in Pune, she decided to make mushroom curry and began serving samples to people in the markets.

The curry became a hit, and today, her zero-waste enterprise Quality Mushroom clocks a monthly turnover of Rs4 lakh. And she has trained hundreds of people in mushroom farming. You can read her story here.

My colleague Aruna wrote a heartwarming piece on a dentist couple who are also saving wildlife. Dr Sarita and Dr PV Subramaniam founded the Earth Brigade Foundation in 2017. In a unique model for wildlife conservation, their NGO sets up solar pumps to fill waterholes in forests. This supply of water prevents animal deaths due to thirst. The NGO also helps forest communities by providing solar lamps and water purifiers and works for the welfare of street animals. 

My colleague Riya wrote about a lemon farmer who is earning 20 times more than what he was earning while cultivating wheat. Anand Mishra from Raebareli was heartbroken after earning a profit of Rs50,000 from chemical-based wheat farming in 2018. He immediately corrected the course and now grows organic lemons, sweet lime, and other fruits. 

Anand’s story shows that we needn’t remain fixated on a path once chosen. It is wiser to change the route whenever the need arises. 

That’s precisely what five women farmers, about whom my colleague Anu wrote, have also done. Anu put together stories of these women who took risks and found success after taking the road less travelled.

And our Sunday feature is on Krem Puri, Meghalaya’s fairy cave where you can get lost in the corridors and passages. It is also the world’s longest sandstone cave.

Happy Reading!

Warmly,
Rashmi