How three volleyball players from Kerala started a thriving mushroom business

For Kerala State volleyball players and former students of CMS College, Kottayam, Akhil GP, Muhammed Sahad S, and Anzil KA, discussions after games and practice often took the entrepreneurial route — different business endeavours they could venture into after graduation. One of the ideas that emerged was to start a mushroom farm, as suggested by Akhil.

Five months ago, they started Home Mushrooms at Erumapetty in Thrissur, which currently yields 150 kilograms of mushrooms a month. Spread across 1.5 acres, the farm, which stands on 8000 square feet, also has a seed production unit.

Akhil, born into an agricultural family at Neyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram, had an interest in farming from childhood, having grown up around paddy fields. “I have been growing mushrooms on the terrace of my house for six years now. I started with two beds.”

Akhil G P, Muhammed Sahad S and Anzil KA
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Functioning with eight staff, Home Mushrooms sells nine varieties, including pearl oysters, blue oysters, gold oysters, pink oysters, button mushroom, milky mushroom, king oyster, shiitake mushroom and Lion’s mane mushroom. The yield is harvested every 12, 15 or 25 days, depending on the variety. “If you continuously cultivate it, you can harvest daily,” says Akhil, who is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in sociology at CMS College. Sahad is an MBA student at Holy Grace Academy of Management Studies in Thrissur, while Anzil helps run the farm.

The mushrooms are grown on different types of beds with hay, sawdust, and a compost made with waste from pearlspot fish (karimeen) and additional nutrients.

One of the primary challenges was generating a market for their produce. “Mushrooms are not very popular in Kerala. So, when we started, we had to find distributors across the State to sell the yield. We reached out to drivers who transported vegetables on different routes. With their help, we managed to enter the retail market,” says Akhil. The company has more than 10 sellers and directly supplies mushrooms to households near the farm.

Another challenge in mushroom cultivation is ensuring hygienic conditions for their growth. “If there is contamination, beds can get ruined and would have to be thrown out. There is a type of fungus which can affect the yield. We wear lab coats and use sanitiser before entering the farm,” says Akhil.

Home Mushrooms currently uses around 500 litres of water daily. “We are building an integrated farming system. The water we use for growing mushrooms is from a reservoir that is used for pisciculture, and this water is later diverted back to the fish pond, after its use at the farm,” says Akhil.

The fresh mushrooms are priced from ₹400 to ₹3,500 per kilogram. The harvest is sold in Thrissur, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Ernakulam districts.

Home Mushrooms are also planning to introduce soaps, turmeric powder, pickle, pappadam, soup powder and chamanthi powder made from mushrooms. Akhil says, “And at a later stage, we want to bring out mushroom cooking oil, puttu powder, mushroom halwa, toothpaste and so on.”