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Women in Industrial and Systems Engineering pp 561–587Cite as

Oyster Mushroom Cultivation as an Economic and Nutritive Alternative for Rural Low-Income Women in Villapinzón (Colombia)

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Part of the Women in Engineering and Science book series (WES)

Abstract

According to The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (Reduce rural poverty, 2018), most of the world’s poor people live in rural areas where hunger and food insecurity are the main expressions of rural poverty. In an attempt to help reducing poverty, several countries throughout the world promote the cultivation of edible fungi as a means of providing nutritive alternatives and earning opportunities for people living in marginal rural areas. In rural areas in the Municipality of Villapinzón, several women develop their activities, are breadwinners but lack a job. The present project takes an interdisciplinary approach to implement the cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus, develop a business plan, and establish a local company, Orellanas de la Villa, with a marginal group of women. Over several visits, the interdisciplinary group searched the available resources to facilitate mushroom production, taught the women a new technique to promote the community’s familiarization with the fungal product, and demonstrate the nutritive properties and different ways of consuming the mushrooms. Considering a selling price that varies between US$ 3.91 and US$ 7.84/kg depending on the product presentation, the business plan showed that each woman has to produce 60 bags/household in order to earn a quarter of the Colombian minimum wage. This study aims to contribute an interdisciplinary approach to the mushroom cultivation process and to create an accessible and economic alternative to low-income rural women in order to diversify some of the local agricultural resources.

Keywords

  • Business plan
  • Fruiting body
  • Empowerment of women
  • Fungal mycelia
  • Oyster mushroom production

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Fig. 24.1
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Fig. 24.4

Notes

  1. 1.

    SISBEN is an instrument that obtains socioeconomic information on specific groups in the country. It is the main instrument for targeting social programs to poor and vulnerable groups.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by Vice-Presidency of Research, Universidad de los Andes. We thank all the participants of the Asociación de Mujeres de Villapinzon, the UMATA of Villapinzon, and the Alcaldía de Villapinzón who gave us the opportunity to work with the women. We also thank the Laboratory of Food Microbiology (LEMA) at Universidad de los Andes that carried out the routine microbiological analyses.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Natalia Vargas & Silvia Restrepo

  2. University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Carmen Gutierrez

  3. School of Management, University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Nubia Velasco

Authors
  1. Natalia Vargas
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  2. Carmen Gutierrez
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  3. Silvia Restrepo
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  4. Nubia Velasco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nubia Velasco .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    Dr. Alice E. Smith

Appendix

Appendix

Table 24.6 Potential clients and situation of negotiation
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Table 24.7 Raw materials and their suppliers
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Table 24.8 Equipment required for the production process
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Table 24.9 Organizational team and salaries at Orellanas de la Villa
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Table 24.10 Other initial investment
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Table 24.11 Packing cost
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Fig. A.1
figure 5

Handmade mesh

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Fig. A.2
figure 6

Comparison between traditional mushrooms providers

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Fig. A.3
figure 7

Product label

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Fig. A.4
figure 8

Facility layout

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Vargas, N., Gutierrez, C., Restrepo, S., Velasco, N. (2020). Oyster Mushroom Cultivation as an Economic and Nutritive Alternative for Rural Low-Income Women in Villapinzón (Colombia). In: Smith, A. (eds) Women in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Women in Engineering and Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11866-2_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11866-2_24

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