-
-
The spawn are being filled into sterile bottles. Any mushroom grower wil require those spawn bottles to cultivate new mushrooms. This process requires specific tools and knowledge and is thus done by Peace and Kate, our two specialists.
-
-
In the small laboratory new mushroom spawn is being produced.
-
-
The agricultural waste is being soaked for three days and afterwards heaped for fermentation
-
-
Agricultural waste from sorghum, millet, beans, peas, wheat or maize can be used as substrates to grow mushrooms on. Instead of throwing it away or burning it, our mushroom growers can use it to cultivate oyster mushrooms. The biggest part of the rural population still lives from subsistence farming and has thus plenty of agricultural waste to grow mushrooms. Here we see Monday, one of our best farmers, preparing the sorghum wast to boil.
-
-
-
After the fermentation process the agricultural waste is being sterilized through boiling. Unwanted organisms and bacteria have to be destroyed before the agricultural waste is being filled in small plastic bags and can serve as substrate.
-
-
The sterilized substrate is being filled into plastic bags and will then be inoculated with the spawn.
-
-
The inoculated bags are then either hanged or placed on a shelf into localy built mushroom houses
-
-
It takes roughly 21-30 days from the inoculation till the mushrooms start sprouting out of the bags. In the first period the bags are hanged in a dark, cool incubation room, where enough daylight plays an important role for the further growth
-
-
Mushrooms sprouting nicely. One of these black bags gives a minimum of two kilos fresh oyster mushrooms.
-
-
-
Farmers and Peace during a post-harvest handling training
-
-
Women from the Ikamiro Oyster Mushroom Group are drying the mushrooms on a tray
-
