MARONDERA — Scores of villagers who live on farms around the town of Marondera, are making brisk business selling mushrooms along the Harare-Mutare highway.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
With the current incessant rains, mushrooms are growing lavishly on anthills and plain land, enabling the villagers to harvest as much as they can transport to the roadside.
The villagers, mostly farm workers, said they were making enough money from selling the mushrooms to supplement their paltry farm wages.
This, they said, had enabled them to pay school fees for their children this term.
A small dish of mushrooms costs US$1.
In an interview with Standardcommunity, villagers said they were taking home an average of US$20 per day from their sales.
“This business is very rewarding. every dollar is a profit since we are harvesting the mushrooms in nearby forests,” said Clara Mujuru, who was selling the relish at a rail crossing in Marondera.
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“It is just a dollar for a small dish and motorists are buying, we are taking home more than US$20.”
Another vendor, Martha Nhiwatiwa said she travelled from Svosve communal lands, several kilometres away, to sell the mushrooms in Marondera.
“The mushroom is growing everywhere in my area and I have come to Marondera to sell it since business is brisk here,” she said.
Owing to stiff competition in Marondera, some villagers opt to travel to Harare or Chitungwiza to sell their mushrooms.
