Students Laud Mushroom Farming Training at Blantyre School
The Ziboda mushroom farming project was launched in 2023, aiming to improve the livelihoods of rural women.
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Students at Tsogolo La Ana Community Day Secondary School in Blantyre have applauded their institution for facilitating a mushroom farming training program, which they say has helped them gain practical knowledge and better understand the mushroom production topic covered in their agriculture subject, writes Thokozani Beaton.
During an educational visit to a mushroom farming project operated by a women's group called Our Bodies Our Lives (OBOL) in Mpemba's Ziboda area on Monday, the students learned the entire mushroom production process as part of their practical studies.
Moureen Osman, a Form 3 student, lauded the visit, saying she has acquired practical knowledge on how mushrooms are grown and the processes involved in mushroom farming.
"The visit here and my participation in the mushroom making process have helped me and colleagues acquire adequate knowledge on how mushroom production is done. This is crucial for my academic journey as well as personal life as an active youth in a community," Osman said.
Joseph Mvona, an agriculture teacher at the school, also highlighted the significance of the visit, saying it assisted both learners and teachers in gaining practical knowledge on mushroom production.
"We are very excited about this mushroom making training which has been given to our students by these mushroom growers because this has provided the learners with a practical experience, and surely this will greatly improve the performance of most students on the topic in class as well as during examinations," Mvona said.
Dorothy Mtuwana, the regional coordinator for OBOL, expressed delight at the students' visit, which symbolizes the remarkable work the women are doing in the community.
"As OBOL women who are engaging in the mushroom farming project, we are very delighted that now the initiative is an attraction for practical studies to the communities such as students for the purpose of education and empowering communities surrounding Mpemba areas," Mtuwana added.
The Ziboda mushroom farming project was launched in 2023, aiming to improve the livelihoods of rural women.
Through the initiative, the group has also managed to procure pigs for an animal farming enterprise.