Home > Our World > News > News Archives by Date > 2011 > January 2011 > News - January 2011
Mushrooms enrich lives of Malawi women

 
Translate

7:00 A.M. EST Jan. 10, 2011 | BLANTYRE, Malawi (UMNS)

Tereza Katumbi, center, displays a crop of fresh oyster mushrooms she helped grow for a United Methodist-financed business in Malawi. UMNS photos by Siyileni Malinki.
Tereza Katumbi, center, displays a crop of fresh oyster mushrooms she helped grow for a United Methodist-financed business in Malawi. UMNS photos by Siyileni Malinki.
View in Photo Gallery

The English poet Janet Erskine Stuart advised, “You must grow like a tree, not like a mushroom.“

But it is the lowly mushroom that is giving new life to eight United Methodist women in this central African nation.

The women, ages 35 to 50, this year have built a business growing and selling mushrooms with the help of an $800 grant from the Agriculture Committee of the Malawi Missionary Conference.

The project, which began in May, is one of several across the conference designed to help women, in particular widows and those living below the poverty line, become self-supporting.

It is already bringing hope to the workers in Blantyre.

“The project will bring tremendous change to my life because I will be able to have proper meals and sustain my family,” said Tereza Katumbi, a widow working on the mushroom project. “I will be able to buy my medication on time, improve my housing, even get better clothes.”

Planting spores

In addition to the mushroom business, the Agriculture Committee also is funding and monitoring pig farming, horticulture, maize production and irrigation projects across the conference.

Katumbi stands outside the mushroom shelter.
Katumbi stands outside
the mushroom shelter.
View in Photo Gallery

Khephas Mtambo, committee chair, said the mushroom business is designed to empower the women so they can contribute to their families and the church.

“Your proceeds are not to sustain the church, but to bank them,” Mtambo said. “When accumulated, then share. From your shares you can tithe, contribute in church activities and keep an amount for reinvesting. Avoid the spirit of begging from your pastor and other people.”

The humid climate; short, multiple growing seasons; and the relatively small start-up costs are among the reasons growing mushrooms is seen as a source of hope for promoting economic advancement in Africa, particularly among women.

The women underwent training for one week, and in May began collecting maize leaves and stalks on which the mushrooms grow inside a 15-square-meter shelter covered with grass and plastic. Planting tools are sterilized to kill any other microorganisms apart from those needed for the growth of the mushroom.

The women collected the first harvest in the middle of August. They expect to harvest some 25 kilograms (55 pounds) a week when the growth rate picks up and the shelter fills. Each kilogram sells for $5 “when demand is high, but less when demand is low,” Katumbi said.

Fruits of faith, hard work

In a land of scarce resources, the women had to scale back their original plans. The initial costs were projected at $2,000, but only $800 was available.

Mushroom spores hang in plastic bags inside the growing shelter.
Mushroom spores hang in plastic
bags inside the growing shelter.
View in Photo Gallery

This meant they had less money to buy spores to allow the business to operate at full capacity. And the shelter was made of grass instead of wood, which would offer a permanent structure.

Yet, their initial success already has some of the women dreaming of diversifying the business.

“We wish we could eventually also venture into poultry and piggery,” Katumbi said.

For now, they thank God for the work and for one another.

“Working together as a group, especially as women, has helped me to be tolerant to others,” said Hope Kanguwo. “This has promoted unity and being able to support and bear each other’s problems.”

*Malinki is a United Methodist communicator for the Malawi Missionary Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton or Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Comments will be moderated. Please see our Comment Policy for more information.
Comment Policy
Add a Comment

Ask Now

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

Phone
(optional)

*InfoServ ( about ) is a ministry of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add this address to your list of approved senders.

Would you like to ask any questions about this story?ASK US NOW