Permafungi or the coffee (under)ground
Good evening y'all,
Still in Bruxelles, Belgium, this week, where we spend time in la ferme du début des haricots (literaly, the farm of the beginning of the beans, french expression and game word... don't bother). We also took the time to visit this pretty magical place yesterday, 7th of december.
It's in this underground labyrinth under Tours et Taxi that we got lost yesterday morning for many hours.
Permafungi is a company located in a wide underground of Bruxelles. It takes over 1000m2 space, and one area is dedicated to the growth of oyster mushrooms, grown on recycled bio coffeground.
We had the chance to participate in the preparation of the christmas kit sold on internet, and so, we had the chance to visit and understand how this unusual company works.
It's an easy concept :
1- they collect the coffee ground from bio restaurants.
2- They mix it with straw and add the mycelium (the root of the mushroom). The mycelium is itself mixed with sawdust. The all thing is placed inside a big plastic worm. This preparation process is made in a sterile laboratory and is called inoculation
3- The plastic worms are then put in incubation, that is to say they are hanged and stored in the dark for two weeks. It's at that time that the mycelium colonizes the substrat (what the mushroom eats).
4- Then, the worms are pierced and placed in a very humid room (80% humidity) where light shines. They stay there for one to two weeks. It the florishing period. The mushrooms grow through the pierced holes and are harvested then. The worm are able to produce up to two times.
5- The rest of the mixture is given to the Nos Pilifs farm (where we went), a urban bio farm of Bruxelles. The handicaps running this farm compost all the coffe ground rests to make breeding ground. This breeding ground is particularly good for the endive growth.
The all production line is made in Bruxelles, from top to bottom, it's a closed and short circuit.
Theur production is sold through bio shops or markets. They also want to raise the consciousness on growing mushrooms thanks to coffe ground,by selling, via internet, home kits. If you're interested, check their website: http://www.permafungi.be/
This initiative is three years old. Six passionated persons and numerous intern are making it work. They try to have a neutral impact on the environment, wich is not so easy for a young company, trying to spread their ideas. The concept they developed allows to re-use the coffee ground that was until there, thrown away.
We there met Benoit, who has a similar project as us, but more focused on healthy food. Here is his website : www.foodrespect.com
See you soon !
A&A
Some nice mushrooms :
