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ETHIOPIA House of mushrooms
You come across small-scale mushroom production all over the world, even in places where the market, consumption levels, climate or cultivation techniques leave much to be desired. Grower Asayehegn Temesgen Shibeshi has the climate on his side, but has to work hard on the other com- ponents. In his rented accommodation annex oyster mushroom farm, he dreams of a better future.
By Magda Verfaillie and Kasper Moreaux
Roughly speaking, Ethiopia comprises a vast highland with a pleasant climate. The capital Addis Ababa is si- tuated close to the equator, at an elevation of between 2200 to 3000 metres above sea level, and enjoys days of fixed length and mild temperatures. Apart from the dry season in November to January, there is regular rainfall. In short, it has an ideal climate for mushroom growing virtually all year round. Shibeshi has a master of science in engineering degree. He earns his living as a civil servant in the Public Works department, a job that offers security but little satisfaction; he dreams of starting his own button mushroom farm. He has studied mushroom growing extensively using books and the internet, and is aware that there are four major obstacles: quality spawn, quality compost, training and startup capital. To gain practical experience, and raise funds, Shibeshi decide to start growing oyster mushrooms on a small scale. There is a rather limited demand at the moment, as there are not many fungivores to be found among the three million inhabitants of Ethiopia. However, mushrooms are gaining in popularity in restaurants, mainly with European chefs, and his sales have risen in just a few months from 10 to 50 kg of oyster
mushrooms a week. The price has also increased from 30 to 50 birr (1.5 to 2 euro) per kg.
Mushrooms in the living room Shibeshi grows his mushrooms in a rented house outside the city. He prepares the spawn in the kitchen, makes the substrates on the veranda and lets them incubate in the bedroom, while the actual mushrooms grow in the living room. He originally bought the spawn locally, but now he makes it himself on cooked wheat in 250-gram bottles, which he sterilises in a small laboratory autoclave. Even without using a laminar air flow, he still manages to produce quite good quality – which is extremely clever under the circumstances. He uses cottonseed husks as the raw material for the substrate. This material is hygienised in two steps: first soaking in boiling water and then steaming in a plastic barrel. He then mixes it with 2% spawn and fills the substrate into 1 kg bags that have incuba- ted after 10 days. The bags are then perforated and neatly stacked on a bamboo rack, where pinheads start to appear after a week. He achieves an average yield of 25% in four flushes, which is excellent.
Pasteurisation barrel on the veranda of the rented house.
Fruit set in the living room.
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