Magic Mushrooms

Whilst scouring the internet for new material to blog about, I accidentally stumbled across a really interesting article in The Guardian (2014). Initially side tracked, I was reading an off-topic article about an orphaned 10-year-old girl from rural Zimbabwe who was set to marry a man 30 years her senior. The article described how she overcame her struggles and now runs her own charity to help other girls in similar predicaments. She achieved this by growing mushrooms. Having somewhat naively only ever associated mushrooms with forestland and western cuisine, I was shocked to learn that mushroom cultivation is becoming more and more popular across Africa.

Chido Govera, the founder of The Future of Hope

A paper in the African Journal of Biotechnology uses Ghana as a case study for the sustainable production of mushrooms. The study looks at the success rates of using various types of organic waste as fertilisers to grow mushrooms (Atikpo et al., 2008). They found that P. eous hybrid, otherwise known as Oyster mushrooms, produced the fastest rate of mycelial growth, completely colonizing the substrate within 26 days. Mushrooms are most ideal for farmers in arid countries as they don’t contain chlorophyll and so do not need any sunlight to grow. Hence, they can be grown indoors in places such as sheds away from the sunlight, and any water is protected from evaporation.

Figure 2: A mushroom farm

Aside from being quick and simple to grow, mushrooms are a more valuable source of protein than both meat and fish based on the amount of protein per gram in dry weight (Hafiz et al., 2003). They have the capacity to convert agricultural waste, such as fish waste, into high protein food (Chang and Hayes, 1978). When dry, a mushroom can contain between 21-40% protein, depending on the species (Atikpoet al., 2008). Following recommendations from the Food and Agricultural Organization, mushrooms have become a staple food in Ghana, where malnutrition due to a lack of protein is rife.

The Future of Hope’s mushroom project, set up by the orphaned girl (now woman) from the article, aims to combat both malnutrition and poverty amongst orphans. The project teaches orphans how to cultivate mushrooms using a wide range of techniques, such as the widely used ‘plastic bag’ method, and their pioneering ‘coffee grounds’ technique. Currently the project is only running in Zimbabwe but is hoping to expand.