In Kashmir’s Forests, Wild Mushrooms Bring Seasonal Cash for School Expenses

This article was originally published in 101Reporters under Creative Common license. Read the original article.

By Umar Farooq and Ilhak Tantray

In spring, beneath the coniferous forests of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts of Jammu and Kashmir, wild mushrooms known locally as Shajkaans emerge from the forest floor. For a few weeks between late February and April, women from hill and Kandi villages in North Kashmir head into the forests with wicker baskets to collect them.

The mushrooms sell for Rs 200 to Rs 400 a kilogram, providing a short-term source of cash for families that otherwise depend on daily-wage labour, livestock rearing and other seasonal activities. For some, the income comes at a time when they are preparing for the new school year and facing expenses such as notebooks, uniforms, shoes and stationery.

For Mughala Begum, 46, a mushroom collector from Zainpora village in Uri, Baramulla district, the connection is direct. She has three children studying in Classes 7, 6 and 4. During a good Shajkaans season, her family sells the mushrooms for around Rs 350 a kilogram. This year, she said, they spent about Rs 10,000 from their mushroom earnings on notebooks, uniforms and other school expenses for the children.

Begum's household does not depend on mushrooms alone. Her husband works as a daily-wage labourer, while the family also earns from sheep grazing and other seasonal work. With limited cultivable land and irregular wage work, mushroom collection provides additional income for a few months rather than a year-round livelihood.

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A short season

For women like Begum, the season begins after the first rains. She wakes up early and enters the nearby forest with four or five other women. They spread out as they search, keeping within sight or earshot of one another because of the risk of wild animals.

“When one woman finds a patch thick with mushrooms, the others rush over. On some days, we spend the entire day in the forest, collecting one or two kilograms each,” she told 101Reporters.

The work does not end when they return home. The mushrooms emerge covered in mud and have to be cleaned by hand. Begum said it can take two to three hours to clean a single kilogram before her husband takes the harvest to the main market in Baramulla.

The mushrooms are largely sold fresh during the short harvesting season. Collectors sell them directly to customers and local traders in the main towns of North Kashmir. Ghulam Rasool, who has been buying Shajkaans for nearly a decade, said he purchases them from collectors and resells them in the town market. His customers include local residents who buy the mushrooms as a seasonal food.

Unlike commercially cultivated mushrooms, Shajkaans are not part of a large-scale processing or packaging chain. The short harvesting season means that the market is concentrated in the same few weeks when the mushrooms are collected.

“These forest products are part of how families manage their seasonal incomes,” Begum said, listing Shajkaans, guchi (morel mushrooms), honey, Shil Hakh, Nunar and other products. For families with limited farming and irregular wage work, income from such seasonal activities helps meet household expenses, including children's school needs.

But the income from Shajkaans is uncertain. Begum said the quantity available varies from year to year depending on weather and competition among collectors. A poor season can leave the family struggling to meet even daily expenses.

“If the season is good and we work every day, a family can collect several kilograms in a week. If the season is poor, we struggle to earn even enough for daily expenses,” she said.

The uncertainty was evident in 2025, when temperatures rose earlier than usual. Shakeela Begum, another mushroom collector from Zainpora Kandi village, said she collected only around 50 to 100 kilograms that year, compared with the 150 to 200 kilograms she usually gathers over two to three months.

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“These mushrooms need cool and rainy weather. When it becomes too hot, they spoil quickly and their growing season becomes shorter,” she said.

The poor season meant her husband had to work as a labourer in town for nearly three months to make up for the lost income.

The short mushroom season is therefore one part of a wider seasonal economy in the hill villages around Uri. Families combine forest products with livestock, daily-wage labour and other work to manage their expenses through the year. For Begum's family, the mushroom harvest provides cash during a specific window when school-related expenses have to be met.

Affect on school

Seasonal livelihoods, however, can also affect children's education, said Syed Muneer Hussain, a teacher at Government High School Paranpila in Uri's border zone.

“Every year, we see many children begin school without proper uniforms or textbooks,” Hussain said. Although the government provides financial assistance for these expenses, he said families dependent on daily-wage work often use the money for more immediate household needs.

Seasonal work can also keep children out of school. During apple and pear harvesting, walnut collection, mushroom gathering and cattle grazing, some children help their families earn money. Schools counsel parents and conduct home visits when attendance falls, Hussain said, but these measures cannot fully address the problem while families remain dependent on seasonal income.

“Financial hardship affects attendance,” he said, adding that stronger rural livelihood support, greater awareness among parents and closer coordination between schools and families are needed to ensure children remain in school.

[Wc/HP]

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