Rejecting Metro Cities, This Innovative Village Startup By A Girl Is In Millions Without Any VCs

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and feeds a huge population like ours. However, if you look at the present trends it is quite evident that the youth of rural India is turning away from the villages and are running towards the cities. The main reason behind this mass migration is the dearth of resources in villages. But among the people who are discarding villages there are some who are smartly utilizing the natural resources of the rural pockets and are becoming examples for others.

Here’s a young woman who dug out success and wealth from the harsh mountains of Uttarakhand and motivated others to take a cue from her. She has presented herself as a role model in state from where more than 20 lakh people have migrated to cities since the year 2000 looking for better opportunities.

Popularly known as the mushroom lady, Divya Rawat did not fall in the trap of clinching high-paying jobs after completing his higher education from Amity University. Instead she turned to start something in villages. She was very inclined towards farming right since her childhood and her interest made her take up mushroom farming. She made the unconventional choice of choosing the unoccupied, dilapidated and abandoned houses for growing mushrooms and now her company’s multi-storied plant is reveling in success.

After initial success, twenty-six-year-old Divya launched a brand called Saumya Food and began exporting mushrooms to other countries. It must be noted that many suggest setting-up an expensive infrastructure before venturing into mushroom farming but Divya introduced several positive changes to this model. Her efforts have brought down the initial cost drastically and now anybody can afford to begin with mushroom farming with mere Rs 5,000-10,000.

I am not doing anything extraordinary. I am simply fulling a social responsibility and showing people how they too can solve their overcome their financial challenges.

Divya believes that instead of heading towards the cities the youth should begin their own businesses in villages. This will create opportunities and develop a self-sustainable model. Her efforts have started showing results. While farmers earn Rs 8-10 on selling one kilogram of potatoes, mushroom fetches them Rs 80 per kg. People who were in dire need of a livelihood are running profitable mushroom farming units and have also inspired others to come back to Uttarakhand and start something of their own.

Divya had lost her father when she was just seven-year-old. All the difficulties that she faced while growing up in the remote village of Chamoli in Uttarakhand made her all the more determined to take charge and make a difference.

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