Officials along with the 10-member group of youth from Chendang during an exposure visit at Guwahati Biotech Park.
Tuensang, September 17 (MExN): A group of 10 youth from Chendang village in Tuensang district, accompanied by two members, undertook a two-day learning and exposure visit to Guwahati in Assam and Chümoukedima in Nagaland, focusing on mushroom cultivation, spawn production, vermiculture and composting.
The visit was organised as part of the livelihood development work being undertaken in Chendang by Abhayjeet Gupta, SBI Youth for India Fellow, in association with Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS).
The initiative aims to create local livelihood opportunities for rural youth through mushroom cultivation and related activities, while helping reduce the economic pressures that often lead young people to migrate in search of work.
On September 15, the group attended a full-day training programme on spawn culture techniques and mushroom cultivation at the Skill Satellite Centre, Guwahati Biotech Park, led by Dr Bula Choudhury, Senior Scientist at Guwahati Biotech Park.
The programme covered mushroom cultivation and spawn culture, sustainable approaches to mushroom production, equipment support and nutritional profiling. The participants also visited the laboratory and took part in practical sessions on spawn culture and oyster mushroom cultivation.
They also received practical exposure to button mushroom cultivation, including the process from substrate preparation to harvesting.
On September 16, the group travelled to Chümoukedima and participated in a skill training programme for rural youth on vermicompost, organised by the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), Chümoukedima, at the Life Ministry Learning Centre (LMLC), Naga United Village. The training was led by Alemla Samuel.
The training was particularly relevant to the group's ongoing work as the project is also exploring the use of spent mushroom substrate for compost production. Knowledge of vermicomposting is expected to help the youth make productive use of waste generated from mushroom cultivation and explore an additional livelihood-linked activity.
Bashang Mongba, President of the Chendang WedoshiThangjam (Chendang Students' Union), said the practical exposure had helped the participants understand the techniques better.
"We have learnt a lot of things during this visit. The practical, hands-on experience has made this much easier for us. We are looking forward to using it to generate livelihood," he said.
The two-day visit was planned not only as a training programme but also as an opportunity for the youth to learn from institutions and practitioners working in the field and bring relevant practices back to their village.
The larger livelihood initiative in Chendang seeks to strengthen local livelihood opportunities for youth and contribute towards reducing the economic pressures that often drive young people to migrate in search of employment.
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