Patkai Christian College organises workshop on mushroom cultivation

Dimapur, Nov. 6 (EMN): A one-day training workshop on mushroom cultivation was held in Patkai Christian College (Autonomous) on Friday, with the main objective to empower women in the campus and the two neighbouring villages of Chümoukedima and Seithekema.

The master trainers of the workshop — Avono Savino and Dr. Reingamla Tetso – gave a broad description on the study of mushrooms while introducing the concept of the training and went on to explain its health benefits as well as its economic viability, an update from the college informed.

Edible mushrooms aren’t just delicacies, Savino said, explaining that they have been found to have anticarcinogenic properties. It is also low in calories, cholesterol and sodium content besides being fat-free and therefore, ideal for people with high blood pressure, she added.

Speaking on economic viability of cultivating mushrooms, Dr. Tetso said it needed little investment or labour and once cultivated, it could be harvested within a month. “Cultivating 10 kg of spawn can reap benefits of up to INR 18,000,” she told the participants, adding that the calculation was made based on estimates that she and her students had come up with.

Dr. Tetso went on to give a hands-on demonstration of cultivating mushrooms and the participants were later given a packet of spawn each to encourage them to take up mushroom cultivation.

The training was organised by the college’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) in collaboration with the Department of Botany.