Mushroom Farming Helps Yangon Women Rebuild Lives Amid Crisis

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Photo: UNDP Myanmar/Phyo Zayar Kyaw

 

 

YANGON — In a quiet corner of Myanmar’s largest city, a new kind of harvest is offering women a way out of deepening urban poverty. Straw mushroom cultivation, led by local women’s groups, is transforming abandoned spaces into thriving urban farms—bringing income, nutrition, and hope to some of Yangon’s most vulnerable residents.

 

Many of these women, like Daw Khin Thit, came to Yangon after the 2021 military takeover, seeking work and stability. But with formal jobs scarce and poverty surging, survival often meant informal labour, debt, or worse. Now, under the Urban Resilience Project (URP), backed by the UNDP, they’re turning mushroom farming into both a livelihood and a lifeline.

“Mushrooms grow quickly and fetch a good price,” Daw Khin Thit said. “I’m older now, and this helps me stand on my own feet.”

The project, based in Thanmada Kan Chay Ward, equips women with training, start-up funding, and technical support. What began as a grassroots proposal from 27 women’s groups is now a growing network of micro-farms reclaiming derelict land—often former dumpsites.

From Spores to Sustenance

Straw mushrooms, which mature in just 10 to 15 days, are both nutritious and profitable. Rich in protein, B vitamins, and key minerals, they’re ideal for families facing food insecurity. Small plots can yield several kilos in a week, providing quick returns from minimal investment.

 

So far, nearly 900 urban farmers have been trained in sustainable techniques like container gardening and mushroom cultivation. Of these, 250 women received small business grants, and over 4,000 people have directly benefited from the wider programme.

Women Leading the Way

While mushroom farming alone won’t solve Myanmar’s economic crisis, it offers something rare: a scalable, low-cost solution with immediate impact. Just as importantly, it fosters solidarity. The women run their farms as cooperatives—sharing tasks, pooling resources, and reinvesting profits.

“The goal is long-term income through group enterprise,” said Win Kyaw, a township facilitator with URP.

As poverty tightens its grip on Yangon—where nearly 43% of the urban population now lives below the poverty line—these women are proving that resilience can take root even in the most unlikely places.

 

-2025-07-16