When we imagine involving mushrooms and typically the southern Mexico state connected with Oaxaca, the very first thing which typically comes to mind will be María Sabina, Huautla de Jiménez and hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms. But slowly which is all changing as a good result of the revolutionary work of Josefina Jiménez and Johann Mathieu throughout mycology, through their very own firm, Mico-lógica.
Based in the particular commune of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca’s Ixtlán region (more commonly acknowledged as the Sierra Septentrion, the state’s major ecotourism region), Mico-lógica’s quest will be threefold: to train both Mexicans and visitors for you to the region in the low cost cultivation of your range involving mushroom kinds; to inform about the healing, health and environmental (sustainable) value of mushrooms; and to carry out ongoing research regarding perfect damage parts and typically the diversity regarding substrata with regard to mushroom customs.
The French-born Mathieu relocated to Mexico, in addition to in fact to be able to Huautla via Jiménez, in june 2006. “Yes, coming to South america from France in order to follow my interest in mushrooms seems like a prolonged way to travel, ” Mathieu explained in a new latest interview in Oaxaca. “But there really wasn’t much of an opportunity in order to conduct studies plus increase a new business in European The european union, ” they carries on, “since reverence with regard to mushrooms had been just about completely eradicated by The Church over the course connected with centuries; and I found that Mexico still maintains some sort of respect and admiration for that medicinal and nutritional worth regarding hongos. Mexico is definitely faraway from mycophobic. “
Huautla sobre Jiménez is more than a a few hour or so drive from the closest thing metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu gradually realized that being in Huautla, while possessing an historical allure in addition to being in a geographic place conducive to be able to functioning with mushrooms, would prevent his efforts to increase a good business and grow popular interest in mastering about fungi. Mathieu evolved into aware of the flourishing standing of Oaxaca’s ecotourism organizations of the Macizo Aspiracion, and indeed the particular Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional wild mushroom festival), placed annually in Cuahimoloyas.
Mathieu met Josefina Jiménez at the summertime quick mushroom celebration. Jiménez got moved to Oaxaca by hometown Mexico Area around 2002. The two distributed similar interests; Jiménez got studied agronomy, and with regard to nearly a few years acquired been handling sustainable agriculture projects in rural gardening communities in the Huasteca Potosina place of San Luis Potosí, the forest of Combativo and the coastline of Chiapas. Mathieu together with Jiménez became business, and after that lifetime partners in Benito Juárez.
Mathieu and Jiménez will be concentrating on three mushroom species in their hands-on training seminars; oyster (seta), shitake in addition to reishi. Their one-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day establishments for any latter two variety of fungus. “With reishi, and to a smaller extent shitake, we’re furthermore training a new fair little with regards to the medicinal uses connected with mushrooms, so more time is needed, ” says Mathieu, “and with oyster mushrooms it’s predominantly [but not exclusively] a training on cultivation. very well
Even though training seminars will be now simply given around Benito Juárez, Mathieu together with Jiménez plan to expand operations to include equally the central valleys in addition to coast regions of Oaxaca. The object is usually to include a network of companies growing different mushrooms which are optimally suited for nurturing using the particular microclimate. There are about 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, plus thus as a variety, the adaptability of the particular oyster mushroom to diverse damage through climate regions is amazing. “The oyster can turn out to be grown within a lot regarding different substrata, and that is what we’re trial and error having suitable now, ” he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can thrive when grown in products which would normally be waste, such since discard from cultivating espresso beans, sugar walking cane, agave (including the fibrous waste produced in mezcal distillation), peas, the common river reed known as carriso, sawdust, as well as list goes in. Farm waste products which may otherwise be left to rot or be burned up, each with negative environment implications, can form substrata for mushroom cultivation. It has to be taken into account, though trite, that mushroom cultivation is a really sustainable, green industry. Around the past several years Mexico has in fact also been in the fore inside several areas of environmentally friendly business.
Mathieu exemplifies the way mushrooms can serve a debatably even greater ecological good:
“They can keep up to thirty million times their mass, having effects for inhibiting erosion. They’ve been used for you to clean up petrol spills through absorption thereby are usually an important vehicle with regard to habitat restoration. Research has recently been done with mushrooms in the war against carpenter ant destruction; they have been suggested that often the use of fungi has the potential to completely renovation the pesticide field around an environmentally friendly means. You will discover actually hundreds of other eco-friendly applications with regard to mushroom make use of, and within each case this mushroom remains a consumable result. Take a new look into the Henry Stamets YouTube address, six Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World. “
Mathieu together with Jiménez can often be found selling their products about week-ends in the natural markets throughout Oaxaca. They’re both more than happy to go over the vitamins and minerals of their own products which range via obviously their fresh mushrooms, but also as preserves, marinated having both chipotle in addition to nopal as well as jalapeño and cauliflower. The mushroom’s nutritional B12 cannot be found inside fruits or veggies, in addition to accordingly a diet which usually consists of fungi is incredibly significant for vegetarians that are unable to get B12, virtually all often contained in meat. Mushrooms can be simply the alternative for meats, together with the benefit that they are not rich in antibiotics and the frequently found in industrially processed meat products.
Mico-lógica in addition promote teas plus extracts made from different mushroom species, each and every formulated like either a supplement, or even for their healing houses. While neither Mathieu or Jiménez has the medicinal background to assign mycological cure for really serious illnesses, Mathieu’s own research points to this medicamentoso use of mushrooms going out with through pre-history, to the current. They notes qualities connected with mushrooms which can guide to restore the resistant system, and thus the make use of of fungi as some sort of complement in the treatment of malignancy and HELPS, and their utility within controlling diabetic and healing high lipid disorders.
“We should all be embracing the natural creation of mushrooms, micron Mathieu concludes. “It’s so simple, it involves a little capital investment, and the idea offers significant rewards, equally for the people ingesting hongos with regard to nutritional and therapeutic causes, for the producers, also small-scale. Mico-lógica also provides dehydrated mushrooms. Yet mushroom spores uk of the dehydrated mushrooms sold in Mexico can be imported from China, and are definitely not organic. Really the genuine shame in a lot of degrees. “