Temwani winnie gunda: button mushroom producer

When Temwani Winnie Gunda quit her stable job as a planner in the Ministry of Energy four years ago, she took a bold step into a world that she only envisioned for many years.

As she worked in the Civil Service, Gunda wondered why the country should be importing high-value button mushrooms when it has the conditions suitable for production.

The thought saw her making the bold decision to be part of the solution to the yawning gap in the market. She launched JAT Group Company Limited to be the vehicle of helping her realise the dream.

Temwani traces her motivation into the venture from Bvumbwe in Thyolo where she was born and raised by her mother, who became a widow when Gunda was only four years old.

“My mother, a horticulturist who studied at Bunda College, was my role model and source of inspiration,” says Gunda.

Following this inspiration, she enrolled at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) to study agricultural economics and graduated in 2008.

“After some time, l got a job at the Ministry of Energy as a planner. The job focused on proposal writing proposals and monitoring projects.”

Despite being good at writing compelling proposals, Gunda became increasingly disillusioned with the gap between policy and real-life impact.

“We would draft policies and then monitor their implementation, but people’s lives didn’t seem to change,” she says.

Having observed this, it ignited a desire in her to find a more direct way of contributing to people’s lives with her expertise.

Determined to make a difference, Temwani set a long-term goal that she will quit the Civil Service once she reaches 40 and delve into agriculture full-time.

“Before l quit I ventured into horticulture but my first attempts, which included growing tomatoes and tobacco, were not as successful. Each failure, however, provided valuable lessons and insights,” says Gunda.

Her breakthrough came when she discovered the potential of button mushrooms, a high-value crop that was largely imported into Malawi. Gunda recognised an opportunity to fill this market gap.

As one way of getting assurance about the type of farming she was about to venture into, the mother of three hired a consultancy firm to conduct a year-long survey on mushroom production.

Despite the detailed plan and the growing success of her mushroom venture, balancing her government job with running a new business proved challenging.

“By the time I turned 40, l had lost interest in my job. So l was left with no other choice other than quitting. so, l presented the issue to my husband and he gave me a go ahead because he understood the plan clearly,” she says.

But not all people saw the merits of her decision. She says her decision to quit a stable job in government met with skepticism from many, including her mother.

Says Gunda: “My mother was concerned that I was too young to take such a risk and my colleagues were worried as well.

“They advised me to keep my job and manage the farm as a side project. But I knew that to fully realise my vision, I had to commit wholeheartedly,” she recalls.

She took the bold step and never looked back. She had faith that all things will work out very well but the first year came with a lot of challenges. She made losses but her passion kept her going.

“For instance, the button mushroom seed was not locally found so we had to import it. We also had difficulties to make compost for mushroom production, but we kept on learning. Now we mastered compost making and we produce large volumes of mushroom,” says Gunda.

She says the business, which originally focused on direct sales to individuals, has now extended its reach to the hospitality sector.

Gunda says during the early stages they were using thatched houses for button mushroom production but now the structures have improved.

“We discovered that having block houses we can increase the production rate as well as sustainability,” she says.

From the proceeds of mushroom sales she bought a piece of land in Chitseka area along the Bunda Road in Lilongwe. She constructed eight block houses.

Says Gunda: “After putting up this structure we secured a $40 000 grant from UNDP with which we built four more houses, installed a solar system and humidifier to ensure the humidity is high for mushroom production.

“With the block houses we grow mushrooms four times a year, the quality is high as well the production volume has increased.”

She is optimistic that she will install greenhouses because they have a higher production rate.

“I had the chance to visit a foreign country outside where I found out that the production rate in greenhouses is double that of the block houses since everything is automated and it uses three phase electricity motor this gives the right conditions for mushroom production,” she says.

Gunda is hopeful that using the green house will give her company a chance to export mushrooms and increase the supply rate locally.

JAT Group employs 26 permanent workers and several casual workers, mostly young people.

She admits that working with people was not easy because some did not understand her vision.

To get the best out of the staff Gunda shared her vision openly with her team. This she did despite the risk of being betrayed by those with too much information.

“People would tell me not to reveal everything, but I couldn’t do it all alone. I had to trust them and empower them. To my surprise, these are the same people who now remind me of what needs to be done when I forget,” she says.

Her commitment to transparency and teamwork has paid off. Every morning, before starting work, the team reads from Habakkuk 2:2, which speaks to the importance of writing down and sharing one’s vision. This has become a guiding principle for JAT Group’s operations.

In addition to her permanent staff of 26 and numerous casual workers, Gunda has trained 288 local farmers in mushroom production. Of these, 146 are currently growing mushrooms, with the others preparing to join.

Her company follows a hub-and-spoke model, providing free training, seeds, and technical expertise to farmers in groups of ten.

One such group is the Mayande Cooperative, a group of 45 farmers who, after receiving training from Gunda, earned K1.5 million from their first mushroom harvest.

They are now working on expanding their operations to cover two hectares of land, with support from the Agriculture Commercialisation Project.

“The cooperative has even built its own warehouse and purchased a greenhouse to further scale their production,” she says.

The success of JAT Group has caught the attention of other organisations such as Centre For Agricultural Transformation which has provided funding for seeds and additional support for local farmers.

“University students from Luanar visit the farm to learn about mushroom production and some even come for attachment,” she says.

She says seeing the progress that she has made and how it impacts on people she is urged to keep going even when the situation gets tough.

“I remember they was a time where we failing to make compost and it really weighed me down. l felt like giving up but looking at the people that depend on me financially I got angry in my spirit and prayed to God. Ever since we have never failed to make compost,” says Gunda.

Now the company has acquired a compost making machine. The machine has reduced the time it takes for compost to mature from 26 days to 10 or 12 days.

Gunda says she has also mastered the art of balancing between her role as mother and an entrepreneur.

“At first it was really difficult to balance these two roles because l was knocking off from the farm at 8 pm. I realised that l wasn’t being fair to the children. So l rescheduled my work so that I should be knocking-off at 4:30pm so that I should give them more time,” she says.

Gunda says the four years that she has been in mushroom production have been a blessing and she does not regret quitting her job.

She has also used her earnings to benefit other people in other sectors.

“We have procured a cement block making machine. These blocks are used in building school structures. We have also bought a tractor which we use for delivering the blocks to sites,” says Gunda.

Looking to the future, she dreams of establishing a mushroom production training centrebso that she can develop more farmers to help her meet the demand for the high-value crop.

Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple, but worth keeping.

“Treat farming as a business. Farming is not just about planting; it’s about planning. Before you start, do proper research. Ask yourself why others have failed and think about what unique value you’re bringing in. Always be motivated. If someone else can succeed in farming, so can you,” she encourages.