Mushroom Varieties and Their Uses

 When we think of mushrooms and the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, first thing which usually comes in your thoughts is María Sabina, Huautla p Jiménez and hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms. But gradually that's all adjusting as a result of the groundbreaking function of Josefina Jiménez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, through their organization, Mico-lógica.

Situated in the town of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca's Ixtládeborah section (more frequently referred to as the Sierra Norte, the state's principal ecotourism region), Mico-lógica's objective is threefold: to coach both Mexicans and readers to the united states in the low-cost farming of many different mushroom species; to instruct concerning the therapeutic, natural and environmental (sustainable) value of mushrooms; and to conduct constant research regarding ideal climatic regions and the selection of substrata for mushroom culture.

The French-born Mathieu transferred to Mexico, and in fact to Huautla p Jiménez, in 2005. "Sure, coming all the best way to Mexico from France to follow my interest in weeds may seem like a considerable ways to travel," Mathieu described in a current meeting in Oaxaca. "But there actually wasn't much of a way to conduct reports and grow a small business in Western Europe," he remains, "since reverence for weeds have been all but totally eradicated by The Church on the length of ages; and I learned that Mexico still maintains a respect and appreciation for the therapeutic and natural value of hongos. Mexico is definately not mycophobic."

Huautla delaware Jiménez is more than a five hour travel from the closest metropolitan center. Consequently, Mathieu eventually seen that residing in Huautla, while holding an historic draw and being in a geographical area conducive to working together with mushrooms, could prevent his initiatives to cultivate a business and cultivate widespread fascination with studying fungi. Mathieu became mindful of the strong trustworthiness of Oaxaca's ecotourism areas of the Sierra Norte, and certainly the Feria Local delaware Hongos Silvestres (regional crazy mushroom festival), held annually in Cuahimoloyas.

Mathieu achieved Josefina Jiménez at the summertime weekend mushroom event. Jiménez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City in 2002. The two distributed similar passions; Jiménez had studied agronomy, and for close to 10 years had been dealing with sustainable agriculture projects in rural farming areas in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosí, the mountains of Guerrero and the coast of Chiapas. Mathieu and Jiménez turned business, and then living associates in Benito Juárez.

Mathieu and Jiménez are concentrating on three mushroom species inside their hands-on seminars; oyster (seta), shitake and reishi. Their one-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day establishments for the latter two species of fungus. "With reishi, and to an inferior extent shitake, we're also training a good touch concerning the medicinal employs of mushrooms, therefore more hours is needed," claims Mathieu, "and with oyster weeds it's generally [but not exclusively] a class on cultivation."

While instruction seminars are actually only provided in Benito Juárez, Mathieu and Jiménez want to develop operations to incorporate both key valleys and coastal parts of Oaxaca. The object is to really have a network of makers growing different weeds which are optimally suited for expansion on the basis of the particular microclimate. You can find about 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, and hence as a species, the versatility of the oyster mushroom to various climatic parts is remarkable. "The oyster may be grown in a multitude of different substrata, and that's what we're experimenting with today," he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can flourish when grown on items which will usually be waste, such as for instance toss from cultivating beans, sugar stick, agave (including the fibrous spend produced in mezcal distillation), peas, the common water reed known as carriso, sawdust, and the number moves on. Agricultural spend that might otherwise be remaining to rot or be burnt, each with negative environmental implications, can develop substrata for mushroom cultivation. It ought to be observed, however understated, that mushroom farming is a highly sustainable, natural industry. Over the past a long period Mexico has actually been at the fore in many regions of sustainable industry.

Mathieu reflects how weeds can offer an probably even greater environmental good:

"They are able to maintain as much as thirty thousand instances their bulk, having implications for inhibiting erosion. They've been used to clean up fat spills through consumption and thus are a significant vehicle for habitat restoration. Research has been finished with mushrooms in the battle against carpenter ant destruction; it's been recommended that the use of fungi gets the possible to completely revamp the pesticide business within an green way. You will find literally a huge selection of different eco-friendly programs for mushroom use, and in each case the mushroom stays an edible by-product. Take a go through the John Stamets YouTube lecture, 6 Methods Weeds Can Save The World."

Mathieu and Jiménez may usually be discovered selling their services and products on vacations in the natural areas in Oaxaca. They're equally more than happy to talk about the natural value of their products which range between normally their fresh weeds, but additionally as keeps, marinated with either chipotle and nopal or jalapeñe and cauliflower. The mushroom's supplement B12 cannot be within fruits or vegetables, and consequently a diet including fungi is incredibly important for vegetarians who cannot get B12, usually found in meats. Weeds can easily be an alternative for foods, with the bonus they are not packed with medicines and hormones frequently within industrially processed beef products.

Mico-lógica also provide teas and extracts made from various mushroom species, each formulated as either a natural supplement, and for their therapeutic properties. While neither Mathieu nor Jiménez gets the pharmacological background to prescribe mycological therapy for significant problems, Mathieu's possess study details to the healing use of weeds dating from pre-history, to the present. He records properties of mushrooms which can help recover the immunity system, and thus the use of fungi as a match in the treatment of cancer and AIDS, and their application in handling diabetes and treating high cholesterol.mushroom chocolate bar

"We must all be embracing the normal production of weeds," Mathieu concludes. "It's really easy, it involves a minor money expense, and it provides significant rewards, both for anyone eating hongos for natural and medical causes, and for the suppliers, actually small scale. Mico-lógica also offers dry mushrooms. Yet all the dried mushrooms bought in Mexico are imported from China, and aren't organic. It's a genuine disgrace on numerous levels."

Mexico and weeds have come a considerable ways since the age of Oaxaca's María Sabina. With the continued initiatives of Mathieu, Jiménez and Mico-lógica, it should perhaps not be well before the planet understands and embraces the magic of mushrooms in just a significantly broader context.