BACHOK: The Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Bakong here has been earning additional income of more than RM15,000 for the past one year via its mushrooms cultivation project implemented by the schools’ parents’ toolkit (Sarana Ibu Bapa) since May last year.
The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president Azman Ag Noh said the grey oyster mushrooms (cendawan tiram kelabu) had generated net profit of RM15,000 for over a year period.
“We are also earning an additional net profit of RM1,800 for split gill mushrooms (cendawan kukur or kulat sisir) cultivation for a two-month period (April to May) this year.
He said being a pioneer school in mushrooms cultivation project in the state, the school aimed at generating additional income via the activity.
“Currently, we have 10,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms and 500 bags of split gill mushrooms,“ he told reporters at the school’s mushrooms cultivation project site today.
Also present were school’s PTA vice-president and mushrooms entrepreneur Haslina Ya, as well as association’s committee member Rozlan Yakob and school’s administrative personnel Marizam Mamat and Rizalman Mohd Razi.
Azman said an old canteen building was renovated and turned into a shelter to house the mushrooms spawning bags, with all the nutrients and mushroom spores pre-packaged.
“The project was mooted by the school’s former headmaster Fadhil Hassan who helped finding activity to generate additional income for the school as it is located in the rural area.
“Through the discussions held at the PTA meeting, we reached a consensus to start the project with 5,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms that we sourced from Thailand and Indonesia,“ he said.
The mushrooms cultivation project also received attention from several schools including SK Jelawat, SK Kubang Telaga, SK Sri Kemunting, SK Seri Kemudi, SK Bachok, SK Chantum while schools in other districts such as SK Cabang Tiga Chetok (Pasir Mas) and SK Gua Musang have also expressed interest to implement similar ideas.
Azman said there were additional 5,000 bags of grey oyster mushrooms and 500 bags of split gill mushrooms under the administration of the new school’s headmaster Amran Zakaria.
“On average we sell about 15kg of grey oyster mushrooms daily at RM10 per kg to wholesalers at the Pasar Jelawat, while for split gill mushrooms, they are priced at RM40 per kg.
“The project also received cooperation from parents to ensure that the mushrooms are in good condition by carrying out constant monitoring particularly the temperature and humidity in the shelter twice a day,“ he said. — Bernama
