KUALA KRAI: Three siblings from Kampung Desa Kasih here have been able to generate almost RM10,000 a month from the sale of oyster mushrooms that they have been cultivating for the past year.
Muhamad Lokman Hakim Md Sabri, 25, said at the initial stage, he cultivated oyster mushrooms just to fill his spare time since he had a lot of free time working as a technician.
"Seeing the potential of oyster mushrooms, my two sisters, Puteri Nurin Darwisyah, 23, and Puteri Nurin Sabirah, 20, have helped me to cultivate the mushrooms to generate a side income.
"We started buying blocks of oyster mushrooms at RM1.60 per unit little by little and as of now we have 3,000 blocks,” he said when met by reporters at his residence here recently.
Commenting further, Muhamad Lokman Hakim said the high demand from local residents and traders around Kuala Krai had kept them busy as they had to fulfil the demand of nearly 30kg of mushrooms per day.
"We did not expect the sales of oyster mushrooms to be very popular and in addition to having regular customers, we also sell them online using social media platforms to increase our income.
"To get maximum and quality results, the temperature of the mushroom nursery or house needs to be humid and with a clean environment,” he said, adding that he harvested the mushrooms twice a day, morning and evening.
Muhamad Lokman Hakim also expressed hope that his efforts would receive assistance from related agencies as he was planning to sell blocks of oyster mushrooms to help any individual who is interested in mushroom cultivation.
"To produce oyster mushroom blocks, we need three materials which are rubber wood dust, rice bran and agricultural lime which are all mixed and blended using a machine.
"The material is steamed for six hours in a barrel and will be cooled for 24 hours before being stored in a humid room,” he said. - Bernama
