Archive · 2 Dec 2025
From Mushroom Farmer to Drone Didi
Jagriti Sahu, a woman from a small village in Chhattisgarh, started growing mushrooms and became very successful.
She taught other women in her village to do the same, helping them earn money.
She also made natural colors from vegetables and flowers for festivals.
Later, she learned to fly drones and now uses them to help farmers spray pesticides on their crops.
She teaches other women how to do these things too, inspiring them to be self-reliant and innovative.
Jagriti Sahu, a postgraduate from Matwari village, started mushroom cultivation in 2019, which became a thriving business.
She trained women in neighboring villages in mushroom cultivation, promoting sustainable incomes and social responsibility.
Jagriti researched and developed herbal gulal using locally grown vegetables and flowers, with sales reaching Rs 8.25 lakh last year.
Selected under the Namo Drone Didi initiative, she became a certified drone pilot, using drones to spray pesticides on farmlands.
She now provides technical and vocational training in drone operations, mushroom cultivation, and household product manufacturing to rural women.
- Who
- Jagriti Sahu, a resident of Matwari village in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district
- What
- Transformed from a mushroom farmer to a certified drone pilot and educator for rural women
- When
- Started mushroom cultivation in 2019, became a drone pilot under the Namo Drone Didi initiative
- Where
- Matwari village, Durg district, Chhattisgarh
- Why
- To promote self-reliance, innovation, and progress among rural women
- Name
- Jagriti Sahu
- Location
- Matwari village, Durg district, Chhattisgarh
- Education
- Two postgraduate degrees and a B.Ed
- Initial Business
- Mushroom cultivation
- Herbal Gulal Sales
- Rs 8.25 lakh in the last year
- Current Role
- Certified drone pilot under Namo Drone Didi initiative
- Training Provided
- Drone operations, mushroom cultivation, household product manufacturing
