Family Farming Knowledge Platform

Mushroom hunters: foraging mushrooms with my dad in Jhumlawang

It was a good day. Sun and cloud were playing hide and seek creating a komorebi (sunbeam) effect in the forest near Syaubaari, Jhumlawang, where my dad and I were looking for edible wild mushrooms. It had rained the night before, so the ground was damp and squishy, giving leeches a chance to try to climb up my gumboots and onto my legs. But I was not concerned. I had put on thick, long socks. The squelching earth under my feet felt soft as I took a deep breath of air that smelled of woods and decaying leaves. Then I noticed an unusual looking mushroom in the distance. I walked towards it quickly and crouched next to the big decaying log on which it was growing. Hidden behind the inner parts of the log’s bark was a bunch of whitish-coloured mushrooms with branches that had blunt roundish tips. I realised I had never seen such a mushroom before. I wondered if it was edible. “Should I pick it or not?” I bent down looking closer. “What if it is poisonous?” I thought.

Title of publication: Stories of change: Connecting traditional knowledge and innovations for fair and sustainable food systems
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Publisher: FAO
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Author: Smita Magar
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Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO
Other organizations: Barefoot Guide Connection
Year: 2023
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Country/ies: Nepal
Geographical coverage: Asia and the Pacific
Type: Report part
Content language: English
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