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Morel Mushroom |
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There are many communally-managed forests . In these
communities, villagers generate income from collecting mushrooms and selling
them to local traders. The Morelles are collected primarily by men from both
community - managed forests and government forests from April to August.
The mushrooms are found scattered in shady areas on the forest floors of
various forest types, including Pinus wallichiana and Quercus spp (Olsen,
in prep). |
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information that mushrooms are ready for collection is spread by word of mouth,
and the men make special trips to the forest for collection. When the men return
with baskets of mushrooms, the women string them together and hang them up to
dry for a few days. Each collector produces approximately one or two kilogram's
of dry mushrooms. Women also collect the mushrooms while carrying out other
chores such as collecting fuel wood or fodder from the forests. We purchase from
the communities, store, and transport the Morelles via air to Nepalgunj. Then
mushrooms are cleaned, de-stalked (remove the tail), graded, fumigated, and
packed according to international standards. |
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