Mrs. Vaishali Udar, a 36-year-old from a tribal farming family in the hilly, rain-fed region of Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, faced a common challenge. Her family relied on traditional agriculture, cultivating paddy and wheat on a small one-acre plot. The residues of the main crop, paddy, were often just discarded.

Her life took a turn when she attended an awareness program at KVK Nashik. She was fascinated by the idea of cultivating mushrooms using paddy straw. This newfound interest led her to a five-day residential training program at KVK Nashik on mushroom cultivation and processing. Excited by the potential for a new source of income, she decided to take the leap.

Under the ARYA project, KVK provided her with essential raw materials like mushroom spawn, polythene bags, and other necessary tools. She started small, cultivating 50 bags which yielded 100 kg of fresh mushrooms. In just the first two months, she earned Rs. 20,000, proving the viability of her new venture.

Inspired by this early success, she expanded her production. She now cultivates 300 bags per batch and runs four batches a year. She directly markets and sells her produce in her own village at Rs. 200 per kg. With a cost of production of just Rs. 50 per bag, she earns a gross income of Rs. 4.80 lakh and a net profit of Rs. 4.20 lakh per year.

Mrs. Udar has now become a role model in her community, encouraging and helping other women to take up mushroom cultivation. Recognizing the high demand in the local market, she has also started selling "Ready to Grow" mushroom bags to other farmers, creating an additional stream of income. Furthermore, she creatively reuses the residuals from the cultivated bags to produce vermicompost, which she uses on her farm and sells the excess, embodying a sustainable and zero-waste approach.

Impact Analysis (After ARYA Adoption)

Impact Factor	Before ARYA	After Adoption of ARYA (2022)
Name of Enterprise	Agriculture Farming	Mushroom Cultivation
Size of Enterprises	-	300 bags/batch (4 batches/year)
Yield	-	2400 kg/year
Cost of Production /unit	-	Rs. 60,000/year
Gross Income	-	Rs. 4,80,000/year
Net Income	-	Rs. 4,20,000/year
Marketing	-	Direct selling in local market

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