1 hr ago
Teacher Turns College Demolition Into Rs 1.5 Lakh Mushroom Business
Nidhi Katare was a teacher who felt very sad when her college was going to be demolished.
She had helped build its science laboratories and had taught there for almost 10 years.
Instead of taking another college job, she started growing mushrooms.
She used what she knew from studying microbiology and teaching mushroom cultivation.
At first, the mushrooms did not grow as well as she expected because the spawn was poor quality.
She then made her own spawn in a laboratory at her family home.
Her business now sells mushrooms, spawn, and foods made from mushrooms.
It earns up to Rs 1.5 lakh each month.
Nidhi still teaches biology because she enjoys teaching.
Professor Nidhi Katare left college teaching entrepreneurship after her Gwalior college was slated for demolition in 2016.
She launched Natural Bio Impact and Research Pvt Ltd in 2017 with Rs 3,000 and 10 kg of oyster mushroom spawn.
After poor initial yields from purchased spawn, she established a laboratory in her 1,500-square-foot ancestral home.
Katare now produces up to 1,000 kg of spawn monthly and sells mushrooms, spawn, and mushroom-based products.
Her business earns up to Rs 1.5 lakh per month while she continues teaching biology to Classes 11 and 12.
- Who
- Professor Nidhi Katare, supported by her husband Sanjay Katare.
- What
- Katare developed a mushroom-farming and spawn-production business after her college premises were slated for demolition.
- Where
- The college was in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh; the business was established at her ancestral house and sells products across India.
- When
- She made the decision in 2016, launched the company in 2017, and the article was republished in September 2023.
- Why
- The demolition ended her work at the college, while her microbiology background and knowledge of mushroom cultivation gave her a basis for starting the business.
Key facts
- Business
- Natural Bio Impact and Research Pvt Ltd, established in 2017
- Initial investment
- Rs 3,000 for 10 kg of oyster mushroom spawn
- Laboratory
- A 1,500-square-foot ancestral house converted into a lab
- Monthly spawn production
- Up to 1,000 kg, sold to at least 150 farmers
- Mushroom production
- Up to 150 kg every two months
- Monthly earnings
- Up to Rs 1.5 lakh
- Products
- Fresh and sun-dried mushrooms, spawn, papads, pickles, biscuits, and protein powder
Quotes
Sanjay Katare
Nidhi Katare's husband and business supporter
“When this college was being built, I was entrusted with setting up the science laboratories from scratch. Every lab was constructed under my supervision. But when the authorities got good money for the land on which the college was built, they had it demolished.”
thebetterindia.com
“We started from scratch. We knew that these mushrooms were in great demand by pharmaceutical companies, but we did not know how to market the products to the right people.”
thebetterindia.com
Sources
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