Uttarakhand Brothers Quit Jobs To Set Up Mushroom Farming Venture; Clock Rs 25 Lakhs Annual Revenue

Neatly tucked away in the Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, there is a small village named Dadoor. 

It's only been some years that connectivity to Dadoor has increased. Concrete roads have been constructed. You'll even find homestays on your way.

“It is a beautiful, beautiful village. I grew up here. You can look anywhere, and it'll be a treat to your eyes,” Sushant Uniyal, founder of The Project Mushroom, tells Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview. 

Eventually, Sushant had to leave Dadoor and go to New Delhi for his graduation. But in 2017, he left city life and his cushy career behind and came back to his village. 

The reason?

A deep sense of purpose. 

A willingness to give something back to Dadoor. 

And a startup idea to grow high-quality mushrooms. 

With a daily output of 100 kilograms, Sushant Uniyal’s mushroom farming venture has now become the largest in the district of Garhwal. 

Along with his brother Prakash Uniyal, Sushant achieves an annual turnover of Rs 25 lakh.

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HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Sushant Uniyal did his graduation in media and marketing from the IP University in Delhi. On the other hand, Prakash earned his engineering degree from the Roorkee Institute of Technology. Right after college, both brothers entered the corporate corridors. 

Sushant landed a marketing role in a private company while Prakash entered the banking field. Some years down the line, Sushant became a marketing manager for a startup.

For the Uttarakhand-based brothers, everything was going smoothly. They both had high-paying jobs.

It was in 2017 that they began yearning for their village, Dadoor. Their relatives back home would call and tell them what was happening. 

“We came to know that our village was increasingly becoming devoid of youngsters. People were migrating to larger cities at an alarming rate. We realized that we had taken a similar route,” Sushant shares.

After having long discussions with each other and weighing the pros and cons, Sushant and Prakash decided to quit their jobs and go back to Dadoor. 

They wanted to build something of their own in the village itself. It was a conscious decision to create and operate something that added value.

“When we quit our jobs, we didn't have any tangible plan. It was scary but for some reason, it was also thrilling. When we packed our bags and finally reached Uttarakhand for good, everything made sense,” Sushant Uniyal tells Startup Pedia. 

When Sushant and Prakash reached Dadoor, they decided to become agri-entrepreneurs and chose the mushroom farming field to venture into. 

Initially, they decided to start their mushroom unit on a very small scale on an experimental basis. They wanted to try out different techniques, fail, learn, unlearn, and finally become experts.

“Both of us are very balanced like that. We didn't want to scale rapidly and then colossally fail at it. We understood that mushrooms are a highly technical crop and need a lot of scientific research and trials to perfect it. We were ready to do what it takes,” the mushroom farming entrepreneur explains. 

In 2017, Sushant and Prakash set up a small room and started growing oyster mushrooms in it. They named their venture The Project Mushroom.

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CHALLENGES AND JOURNEY

When the mushroom farming entrepreneurs started growing oyster mushrooms on an experimental basis, many people discouraged them. 

They said that the brothers were investing in the wrong kind of mushrooms and that they would have to incur heavy costs on transportation. 

“They weren't wrong either. Roads to and from Dadoor were difficult to navigate. We knew we'd have to spend a little extra on transportation. But we took that risk,” mushroom entrepreneur Sushant Uniyal explains. 

Sushant and Prakash chose oyster mushrooms to grow because they adapt positively to the climate of Uttarakhand. They didn't have to use expensive air-conditioned rooms and setups.

Initially, the mushroom farming entrepreneurs were procuring spawns and raw materials from random places.

“But eventually, we realized that the quality of raw material matters a lot. We had to educate ourselves to test and identify quality and then buy in bulk. That was one of the challenges. Also, the same was true for spawns. We had to go through multiple spawn labs before finding the right one,” Sushant Uniyal says. 

After a couple of years, the brothers started expanding their unit and decided to set up a bigger one. The new unit was roughly 4,800 square feet in area. 

They had to invest a total of Rs 28 lakh. 

While Rs 18.69 lakh was sanctioned through a bank loan, the rest came from their personal savings. 

“The Uttarakhand government offered us a subsidy of Rs 8 lakh. That helped us greatly,” he shares with Startup Pedia. 

But just when everything seemed to be on track, the COVID-19 pandemic hit India. 

In 2020, The Project Mushroom suffered slightly. Workers weren't available, transportation was a hassle, and a bank loan was due.

“Fortunately for us, the bank introduced a moratorium. Simply put, it is when a bank allows you additional time to pay the loan without imposing any penalty,” Sushant Uniyal says.

Eventually, when the lockdown eased and things got better, the mushroom entrepreneurs continued growing oyster mushrooms and started selling them in nearby markets. They had cracked the correct temperature to grow the mushrooms in and even their species choice turned out to be right.

One of their key decisions was to avoid growing mushrooms during the monsoon season as they become more susceptible to contamination.

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 THE BREAKTHROUGH

In 2021, Sushant and Prakash Uniyal witnessed a breakthrough with their mushroom farming venture.

The Indian government was selecting home farming ventures to support and promote. Along with six other ventures across the country, The Project Mushroom made it to the list.

In a bid to encourage these agri-entrepreneurs, the government waived off the mushroom farmers’ equal monthly installments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hosted a video conference to interact with the ventures. 

The entire exercise greatly helped The Project Mushroom in gaining positive word-of-mouth publicity.

“Speaking to the Prime Minister directly and then seeing him tweet about us—it was a great moment of pride for us. This was also positive reinforcement that has helped us to keep going till today with plans to scale in the future,” mushroom entrepreneur Sushant Uniyal explains.

THE PROJECT MUSHROOM

Today, The Project Mushroom produces a daily output of 100 kilograms to 125 kilograms of oyster mushrooms.

Sushant and Prakash mostly utilize the winter season in Uttarakhand (October to March) to cultivate mushrooms and avoid any contamination.

“We only grow oyster mushrooms for 10 months of the year, putting the unit on hold during the monsoon season. This has been an informed decision that has worked out for us,” the mushroom entrepreneur shares.

The output is sold in markets operating within 50 kilometers of the mushroom unit. The nearest market is in Chamba in the Garhwal district.

With two permanent employees and numerous daily wagers, The Project Mushroom has become the largest mushroom farming unit in Uttarakhand.

GROWTH

During the first few years of their mushroom farming venture, Sushant Uniyal and Prakash Uniyal generated Rs 1 lakh as annual revenue per year.

Eventually, with output growth, their revenues increased.

In FY24, The Project Mushroom clocked an annual revenue of Rs 25 lakhs.

The mushroom entrepreneurs also collaborate with the District Institute of Education and Training to help teachers by offering training programs.

In a personal capacity as well, Sushant and Prakash conduct various mushroom training workshops to help people understand how to cultivate mushrooms, choose a species, figure out temperature, manage humidity levels, and crack prices and supply chains.

“A lot of trainers have painted a very rosy, airbrushed picture of mushroom farming, almost promoting this as a get-rich-quick scheme. But that is not at all the case with mushrooms. They are a technical crop, unlike wheat or rice that can be grown without a lot of difficulty. With our training programs, we aim to give people a real glimpse into mushroom farming,” the mushroom entrepreneur highlights.

Also Read: Kerala Man Quits Banking Job And Starts Growing Microgreens In His House; Clocks Rs 3.5 Lakh Monthly Revenue

LOOKING AHEAD

In the near future, with their mushroom farming venture, Sushant Uniyal and Prakash Uniyal want to assist the Indian government in planning nutritious midday meals for school-going students.

Along with their core team consisting of Pawan Negi, Priya Uniyal, and Shivani Negi, they aim to include mushrooms in the meals and plan a seamless supply chain around it.

“One of our biggest achievements is being able to generate employment for people in Dadoor and nearby areas. We also encourage youngsters to set up farming ventures in Uttarakhand instead of only choosing to migrate to bigger cities. There’s a lot of potential here, and every day, we try to prove that potential to people,” Sushant Uniyal signs off.

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