Mini Wilson of Puthuparambil House, Ponnankayam, Pulloorampara, is reaping the rewards of venturing into mushroom farming on an experimental basis in 2015. Two of her products, mushroom pickle and mushroom chutney powder, will soon reach the market under the Keralagro brand of the Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare Department.

Thiruvambady Agriculture Officer V S Muhammed Fasil said Mini is the only entrepreneur in the district selected to market mushroom products under the Keralagro brand. In addition, she sells mushroom seeds and pellet packets under her own label DINAS, named after her younger daughter. Her products even find buyers overseas and currently enjoy a consumer base of nearly 6,000 online customers. Mini also serves as a resource person for mushroom entrepreneurship training programmes organised by Krishi Bhavans and the Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA).

Exploring and mastering mushroom farming
A farming enthusiast since childhood, Mini Wilson discovered the potential of mushroom farming through magazines like Karshakasree. She also sought guidance from the then Thiruvambady Agriculture Officer, P Prakash, to study and train in mushroom cultivation. Soon after, she began cultivating oyster mushrooms and milk mushrooms. What started with a small shed housing just 20 beds has now grown into a newly built shed with a capacity for 5,000 beds.

KVK training that sparked growth
A major milestone came when Mini attended mushroom seed production training at the Peruvannamoozhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). The high cost and shortage of quality mushroom seeds motivated her to take part. Within four months of training, she set up a seed production lab at her home in Ponnankayam.

She arranged petri plates, test tubes, a pressure cooker and inoculation needles. A spare room was converted into a lab, complete with cupboards, a one-tonne air conditioner and a refrigerator for storing the mother culture. Using spawn sourced from KVK, she prepared bed spawn, cultivated mushroom beds and harvested successfully.

From then on, mushroom seed production became a parallel venture. Despite her household responsibilities, she managed to produce 300g, 500g and 1kg packets of mushroom seeds daily.

From lotus farming to aquaculture
Mini’s interests extend beyond mushrooms. In the pond in front of her house, she rears fish varieties such as Tilapia, Catla, Rohu, and Pomfret. In a smaller pond nearby, she grows lotus and water lilies. She also cultivates durian, a fruit with a strong odour but prized taste, with each fruit fetching around ₹500.

Alongside, she maintains a honeybee colony. Her efforts have also brought her multiple recognitions, as in 2017, she was honoured as the Best Farmer of Thiruvambady Panchayat and last year, she was named Best Woman Entrepreneur by Peruvannamoozhi KVK on International Women’s Day.

Family
Mini’s biggest support is her husband Wilson, also a farmer. Their children are Derin, a BSMS graduate from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal; Delna, a B Sc Nursing student and Dina, a class five student. In fact, Dina was honoured as Best Student Farmer last year by the Thiruvambady Krishi Bhavan.