4 lodges, fixed and painted – we are ready for visitors.

Before

After

At the same time we have started a new trial project, mushroom farming. Building a frame from timber and covering with black plastic to keep moisture in as mushrooms need humidity to grow well.

At the local cotton factory we purchased 200kg of their spoiled lint, to use as a substrate for the mushroom to grow on. (You can also use hay, maize chuff etc) This was soaked in disinfectant for 24hrs, to kill any nasties. We added 5 layers of mushroom spawn and lint into a plastic pocket and cut a watering hole in the top and drainage hole at the bottom. The pocket was then hung in the frame, where it will be left for a few weeks to allow the spawn to run through the substrate. Once it is 80% covered we will make holes in the pocket for the mushroom to grow out off.

We will be planting around 30 pockets in total and hope to start harvesting mushrooms in around a month. Our aim is to be able to harvest around $2 worth of mushroom per pocket every other day. A successful trial will mean we can offer mushroom farming as another project to the community. Watch this space!