The interviews and reporting for this story were conducted in 2023.

Shiitake mushrooms are known for their explosive flavour. They’re not just recommended by scientists for their Vitamin B5 and dietary copper content, but chefs worldwide also praise them. When you try dishes containing these fungi, you’ll experience a savoury, almost meaty taste from the first bite. They complement a variety of foods like soups, risottos, broths, and seasonings, enhancing their flavour.

When Lhüvevolü A Rhakho from Nagaland’s Phek district was experimenting with different recipes in 2019 in a bid to get her family to eat healthier, she stumbled upon a few recipes that suggested eating mushrooms. At the time, the 37-year-old mass communications graduate was engaged in a retail business. While she had no plans of venturing into the entrepreneurial space, life did.

Today as Lhüvevolü spearheads her initiative ‘Native Organics’, she says it is a testament to her passion and dedication to learning. She says she starts her day at the break of dawn, checking on the unit in Phek where the mushrooms are grown, going into the neighbouring fields and speaking to the farmers — all the while believing that there is always something more to learn that will help her scale her venture.

But while her focus is now razor sharp, in 2019, she was merely “experimenting with mushrooms to pass her time.”

As she notes, “It was during this time that I began to see how economically viable the idea was.” But even so, it was an interaction with the famed Dr Sosang Longkumer of Konger Agritech that really gave her the final push to explore mushroom farming in detail.

A chance encounter and an idea

Dr Longkumer is credited with introducing shiitake mushrooms, which usually grow in East Asia, into Nagaland in 2018, thus setting the stage for the rise of “mushroom-preneurs” in the Northeastern........

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