As the rainy season begins, the locals of Gurja, a village in the hilly district, march towards the forest to forage for wild red mushrooms.

The mushroom fetches a high price in the local market, and therefore, every year the majority of locals join the expedition to make some extra money.

The wild red mushroom is rich in protein, vitamins A, B, and C, minerals and calcium, says a study by the Nepal Agricultural Research Council.

Some companies like DXN purchase them in bulk to make various medicinal products. Others buy it for its exotic taste.

Therefore, traders visit the villages and local markets to purchase freshly harvested mushrooms.

The inhabitants of the villages have been collecting and consuming wild red mushrooms for ages. The skill to distinguish poisonous mushrooms from non-poisonous ones has been passed down through the generations and now demand for it is growing as well, locals said.

In addition to Gurja, the locals of Lulang, Mudi, Chim Khola, Kuine, Mangale, Ghaasi Kharkha, Ramche, Ghode Paani and other villages in the hilly regions are involved in the commercial collection and trading of the wild red mushroom.

The residents of Gurja collect the highest quantity of mushrooms in the district.

One kilogram of the wild red mushroom sells for Rs600 in the village whereas, in Beni, the district headquarters, its sells for as much as Rs1,200 a kg.

The villagers also sun-dry the mushrooms and sell them till mid-October.

Each family in the region makes anywhere from Rs10,000 to Rs500,000 a year by collecting the mushrooms.

According to Nar Bahadur Chhetri, deputy forest officer of the Division Forest Office Myagdi, traders visiting the villages to buy the mushroom from locals pay a tax on purchases as well.

“The mushroom collected in the local forest is sold in Kathmandu and even exported,” said Chhetri. “This variety of mushroom is safe and no one has ever fallen ill by eating it.”

The Division Forest Office has not made a provision of taking a permit to collect the mushroom from the forest as they are ample in quantity, added Chhetri.

This variety of mushrooms grows in fallen trees, tree stumps, empty grasslands and slopes.

According to Aak Kumar BK, chief of ward two in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality, the locals walk up to the base of the mountains to forage for mushrooms.

“I also gather mushrooms in my free time along with my family,” said BK. “There’s no trouble of the market.”

According to the Division Forest Office, the forests in Myagdi produce around 3,000 kg of wild red mushrooms in a season. However, only 500kg were collected last season.

The locals don’t need to pay the tax on the collection and sales of mushrooms within the district. Only the traders who buy in bulk of them to sell in Kathmandu and foreigners pay the tax, said BK.