Discussion with Tanel Heinsalu inside the water tank.
Magical conks On the day before the symposium, there was an opportunity to visit Chaga OU, the company whose activities were reviewed by Kasper Moreaux in a previous issue (MB108, Sep. 2021). They promote the environmentally friendly cultivation of chaga (Inonotus obliquus) in the vast Estonian forests. Chaga farming involves introducing chaga-mycelium plugs into young birch trees. The birches react by forming a dense tissue that proliferates through the tree. These so called “conks” have traditionally been attributed medicinal properties, and growing interest in traditional medicines has seen demand rocket. As a result, natural reserves of harvestable conks are in serious decline. However, chaga farming offers the long-term solution to this problem. Chaga OU extracts the active ingredients from the conks, including betulin and betulinic acid, at its brand-new facility in Törva. After the symposium, we had the opportunity to look inside the production hall, and to taste a range of healthy and tasty magic potions. Chaga OU already exports its chaga elixirs to 20 countries, and as a result has its own demand for cultivated conks. It has developed chaga farming into a business model: it sells plugs to forestry management companies in Europe and in the USA - together with its American partners - with a buyback guarantee at a minimum price. But the group has other
ambitious plans, which we will explain later on in this article.
Many mycelium start-ups fail because they
don’t apply strict hygiene
procedures.
Ganoderma design Maidu is a fantastic host. After the symposium, Maidu and Liisi Tampere took us on a short but fascinating fungi related tour. Anyone who thinks fungi play an insignificant role in Estonia is wrong. There is traditionally a lot of interest in wild mushroom picking anyway, as is the case in much of the rest of Eastern Europe. Here too, one observes an exponentially rising interest in fungi, evident in the start-ups that are literally sprin- ging up like mushrooms. We were allowed a peak behind the scenes at Myceen, Siim Karro’s start-up, who was one of the speakers at the symposium. The small com- pany is in the process of settling into its new premises and finding its way in the industry. We saw some fantastic, beautifully coloured design objects, which bore the stamp of Ganoderma mycelium. While developing mycomaterials for use as insulation material is currently still a distant dream, it seems that acoustic panels and other forms of design and art, are a more viable proposition.
Soviet tank and sea containers Maidu continued the tour by taking us to Eesti Seenefarm’s original cultivation site. Tanel Heinsalu has converted a giant discarded hot
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 27
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