The first cycle of harvest yielded 7,6 kg. Much attention was paid to ventilation, humidity and cleanliness of the growing room to prevent any bacteria. The first harvest was of good quality and provides a good basis for expanding the activities.

Cotton husk and Wheat straw was the main ingredient used as the substrate, though rice bran was included alongside some other ingredients, including but not limited to brown sugar, limestone, etc which then went through a series of processing steps to make it suitable as a growing medium for the farming oyster mushrooms. After the…

After receiving funding from Skills and Business for Africa, materials for the mushroom farm were purchased. These included a metallic drum, knapsack sprayer, firewood, twine, bundles of metallic nets, wood, planks, cotton husk and wheat straws . For the farm setup, the walls were plastered and a new, suitable door was installed. To ensure proper…

To perfect my knowledge and know-how on mushroom cultivation, I enrolled and attended a three days training at a farm in Bindura, with Mai Mako. During this time I was personally assigned with some spawn to grow before certification.

The start-up fund for the company came in from Skills and Business for Africa. They financed the initial costs.

The financial implication and investment for the start-up phase, including the revenues, training cost and cost of materials and utilities was summed up.

For the start of a mushroom farm it is important that with a relatively small investment good cultivation space for oyster mushrooms can be set up. The shelter on my family’s property is 20 m2 a will be used for the cultivation space. Its currently being used as a storage room i will clean and…