Yuriy Dushchenko and his partner launched a mushroom farm in Lyman two months before the full-scale invasion. Unfortunately, the war disrupted their plans—the family was forced to evacuate urgently.
“Slavyanski Vedomosti” tells Yuriy Dushchenko’s story.
The road to recovery was not without its challenges. Chernivtsi was the family’s first stop after the evacuation. Three months later, realizing that a quick return to the Lyman region was not in the cards, Yuriy and his partner decided to restart their business in a new location: they found a space, renovated it, ordered compost, and grew 4.2 metric tons of mushrooms. But they were unable to sell their harvest because the button mushrooms had grown large and meaty—ranging from 12 to 18 centimeters—and no one wanted to buy them.
Ultimately, unable to withstand the competition and having spent their already limited savings on the attempt to establish themselves in Chernivtsi, the family moved to the Zvenyhorodsky District in the Cherkasy region in the spring of 2023.
A fresh start in the Cherkasy region became possible after winning the “Do Your Own Thing” business ideas competition organized by the “MHP-Gromada” Charitable Foundation. Yuriy received a grant of 100,000 hryvnias.
Preparing the facility took four months: electrical work, air conditioners, air filters, and shelves. To attract customers, Yuriy began posting videos on TikTok showing the mushroom cultivation process. The videos unexpectedly went viral.
Customers were offered both standard button mushrooms and large ones—with diameters of 17–25 centimeters. Most of these mushrooms weighed 400–700 grams, but one was a true champion—it weighed more than a kilogram.
Today, the farm is expanding. In addition to button mushrooms, Yuriy grows oyster mushrooms, and he plans to grow king oyster mushrooms and comb-tooth mushrooms. The entrepreneur is also working on producing his own growing medium and plans to install solar panels to make the farm more self-sufficient.
“Running your own business, especially in a new location, isn’t easy. The main thing is not to sit idly by and to keep moving forward,” concludes Yuriy Dushenko.
The Ukrainian people are hardworking and indomitable!
Together toward Victory!