Bina Devi (born ) is an Indian leader who became known for inspiring women to become businesswoman through mushroom cultivation. Nicknamed 'Mushroom Mahila' for popularising mushroom cultivation, Bina Devi gained respect and became the

Sarpanch A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha (village government) in India. The sarpanch, together with other elected panchay ...

of Dhauri Panchayat, Tetiabamber block for five years. She has trained farmers on mushroom and

organic farming Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...

vermicompost Vermicompost (vermi-compost) is the product of the decomposition process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and ...

production and organic

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

preparation.

Early life

Bina Devi is from a small village named Tilkari and she was born in about 1977. She belongs to the

Bind caste The Bind are a caste found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tripura. Binds are under the Other Backward Classes category in many states. Bind is one of the Jaliya communities. In Uttar Pradesh, th ...

Career

Devi grew a small amount of mushrooms under her own bed and this made her realise that this was an opportunity. Devi had engaged in

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

and

goat farming Goat farming involves the raising and breeding of domestic goats (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') as a branch of animal husbandry. People farm goats principally for their meat, milk, fibre and skins. Goat farming can be very suited to production ...

but she became known for inspiring self employment among rural women. She has popularized mushroom production in five blocks and 105 neighbouring villages in the

Munger district Munger district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. The city of Munger is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is a part of Munger Division. Its literacy rate of 73.3% is higher than ...

, impacting 1,500 women by supporting them while they adopted mushroom farming. She has been involved in spreading

digital literacy Digital literacy is an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information using typing or digital media platforms. Digital literacy combines technical and cognitive abilities; it consists of using information and communication tec ...

and trained 700 women in how to use a mobile phone funded by Tata Trusts. She has trained 2,500 farmers on SRI Method crop farming and supported the formulation of self help groups. Bina Devi became the seventh woman after Chennai-based social worker Sneha Mohandoss,

bomb blast A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

survivor

Malvika Iyer Malvika Iyer (born 18 February 1989) is a social worker and disability rights activist having lost both her hands as a child when she picked up a grenade. She is also a model for accessible fashion. Iyer obtained her doctorate in social work f ...

, Kashmiri Numdha, handicraft revival worker Arifa Jan, urban water conservationist Kalpana Ramesh, Maharashtra Banjara handicraft promotor Vijaya Pawar and lady mason Kalavati Devi to handle the Prime Minister's account on Women's Day. On March 9, 2020, she was awarded with

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

by President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

. Referring to her own mushroom cultivation, she said: "Due to this farming, I got respect. I became a

sarpanch A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha (village government) in India. The sarpanch, together with other elected panchay ...

of Dhauri Panchayat in Bihar.https://twitter.com/smritiirani/status/1236579836342046720?lang=en It is a pleasure for me that many women like myself are getting the opportunity to train." Recently she was also awarded with 'Pratibha Samman' at the Matri Shakti Sammelan in Munger, Bihar. The event was organized at Lakhisarai, Munger on December 25, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Bina Living people 1977 births Indian women farmers Nari Shakti Puraskar winners People from Bihar 21st-century women farmers 21st-century Indian farmers 20th-century Indian farmers 20th-century women farmers