A community school in ward 6 of Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality in Gorkha district has been serving freshly grown mushrooms as part of its mid-day meals, and students are actively involved in the farming process.

Himalaya Secondary School has been offering mushroom-based meals to its more than 100 students, from kindergarten to grade five, every other day. Headmaster Ramchandra Bhattarai said the students enjoy the mushroom curry, which provides them with important nutrients.

As part of the local unit’s policy to promote mushroom farming in community schools, the school has been producing mushrooms by installing 60 growbags. "We serve mushroom-based meals every alternate day and the students find them quite tasty," said Bhattarai. "We have sold approximately 45 kilograms of surplus mushrooms so far, generating around Rs11,000. The income will be reinvested in purchasing mushroom seeds for future cultivation,” he added.

The school has been selling its surplus mushrooms at Rs250 per kilogramme. Bhattarai claims that involving students in mushroom farming has had an educational impact, as some students have even taught their parents the cultivation techniques and begun growing mushrooms at home.

There are a total of 46 community schools across Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality. They started mushroom farming a month ago. The first harvest is now being used for mid-day meals by almost all the schools.

Sukmaya Gurung, principal of Triveni Basic School in ward 3, mentioned that her school has also added mushrooms to the student’s meals. "They liked it so much that we are now planning to include mushroom dishes at least twice a week," she added.

Triveni Basic School, which has 23 students from grades one to three, planted mushrooms in 15 growbags for its mid-day meal programme. According to Gurung, teachers and parents collaborate to grow the mushrooms, recognising their high nutritional value for children.

Similarly, Shahid Smriti Secondary School in ward 7 has installed 180 growbags to grow mushrooms. Students have been actively involved in the entire process, from cutting straw and soaking it in water for cultivating mushrooms.

"The senior students take charge of cultivating the mushrooms while younger ones observe and learn the process," said Principal Rohini Khanal. He emphasised that the initiative has provided students with valuable hands-on learning experience, equipping them with practical agricultural skills as well.

The initiative has been encouraged by the rural municipality, which has supplied mushroom spores to schools based on their student population, ranging from 10 to 100 growbags per school. "There are 11 secondary and 35 primary schools in Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality, all of which have started mushroom farming," said Rajendra Khanal, the education unit’s chief of the rural municipality. "Mushrooms generally take three weeks to grow and the schools are now seeing their first harvests,” Khanal added.

Mushroom farming was first introduced in eight community schools as a pilot programme last year which yielded positive feedback. “Based on that success, the local unit expanded the programme this year,” said Khanal.

The rural municipality allocated Rs100,000 for the programme in the current fiscal year of 2024-25. "Our goal is to educate students about commercial farming at an early age so they can pass this knowledge on to their families. Schools can use the mushrooms for their meals and any surplus can be sold for additional income,” said Khanal.

Additionally, the local unit has provided orientation on mushroom cultivation to one teacher from each school. "Some schools have even expanded their cultivation beyond the resources provided," informed Khanal.

Rural municipality officials said they believe this initiative has not only contributed to students’ nutrition but also imparted practical agricultural skills, ensuring they learn valuable techniques that could benefit them and their communities in the future.

The inclusion of mushrooms on the menu, according to experts, helps fulfil the goal of the mid-day meal programme. It was introduced in Nepal in collaboration with the World Food Programme to ensure that children in community schools get a healthy, nutritious diet. The programme aims to combat malnutrition, reduce the number of dropouts, and encourage children to attend classes regularly.