Mico-Logica Alters Our Perception of the Magic of Mushrooms in Oaxaca, Mexico
When we think of mushrooms and the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, the initially issue which traditionally comes to mind is María Sabina, Huautla de Jiménez and hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms. But gradually that’s all altering as a result of the groundbreaking perform of Josefina Jiménez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, via their company, Mico-lógica.
Based in the village of Benito Juárez, positioned in Oaxaca’s Ixtlán district (additional usually recognized as the Sierra Norte, the state’s most important ecotourism area), Mico-lógica’s mission is threefold: to train both Mexicans and guests to the nation in the low-expense cultivation of a range of mushroom species to educate about the medicinal, nutritional and environmental (sustainable) worth of mushrooms and to conduct ongoing research concerning optimum climatic regions and the diversity of substrata for mushroom culture.
The French-born Mathieu moved to Mexico, and in truth to Huautla de Jiménez, in 2005. “Yes, coming all the way to Mexico from France to pursue my interest in mushrooms seems like a extended way to travel,” Mathieu explained in a current interview in Oaxaca. “But there genuinely wasn’t much of an chance to conduct studies and develop a company in Western Europe,” he continues, “due to the fact reverence for mushrooms had been all but completely eradicated by The Church more than the course of centuries and I discovered that Mexico nonetheless maintains a respect and appreciation for the medicinal and nutritional value of hongos. Mexico is far from mycophobic.”
Huautla de Jiménez is far more than a 5 hour drive from the closest metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu eventually realized that staying in Huautla, though holding an historic allure and becoming in a geographic region conducive to operating with mushrooms, would hinder his efforts to grow a enterprise and cultivate widespread interest in understanding about fungi. Mathieu became cognizant of the burgeoning reputation of Oaxaca’s ecotourism communities of the Sierra Norte, and indeed the Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional wild mushroom festival), held annually in Cuahimoloyas.
Mathieu met Josefina Jiménez at the summertime weekend mushroom occasion. Jiménez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City in 2002. The two shared related interests Jiménez had studied agronomy, and for close to a decade had been operating with sustainable agriculture projects in rural farming communities in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosí, the mountains of Guerrero and the coast of Chiapas. Mathieu and Jiménez became small business, and then life partners in Benito Juárez.
Mathieu and Jiménez are concentrating on three mushroom species in their hands-on seminars oyster (seta), shitake and reishi. Their one particular-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day clinics for the latter two species of fungus. “With reishi, and to a lesser extent shitake, we’re also teaching a fair bit about the medicinal uses of mushrooms, so extra time is expected,” says Mathieu, “and with oyster mushrooms it is predominantly [but not exclusively] a course on cultivation.”
Though space caps chocolate are now only provided in Benito Juárez, Mathieu and Jiménez program to expand operations to consist of each the central valleys and coastal regions of Oaxaca. The object is to have a network of producers growing diverse mushrooms which are optimally suited for cultivation primarily based on the distinct microclimate. There are about 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, and thus as a species, the adaptability of the oyster mushroom to distinctive climatic regions is remarkable. “The oyster can be grown in a multitude of unique substrata, and that’s what we’re experimenting with right now,” he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can thrive when grown on solutions which would otherwise be waste, such as discard from cultivating beans, sugar cane, agave (which includes the fibrous waste created in mezcal distillation), peas, the widespread river reed identified as carriso, sawdust, and the list goes on. Agricultural waste which may well otherwise be left to rot or be burned, every single with adverse environmental implications, can kind substrata for mushroom cultivation. It need to be noted, even though trite, that mushroom cultivation is a extremely sustainable, green market. Over the previous various years Mexico has in truth been at the fore in numerous places of sustainable industry.
Mathieu exemplifies how mushrooms can serve an arguably even higher environmental fantastic:
“They can hold up to thirty thousand instances their mass, obtaining implications for inhibiting erosion. They’ve been used to clean up oil spills via absorption and therefore are an important automobile for habitat restoration. Study has been performed with mushrooms in the battle against carpenter ant destruction it really is been recommended that the use of fungi has the potential to absolutely revamp the pesticide industry in an environmentally friendly way. There are literally hundreds of other eco-friendly applications for mushroom use, and in every case the mushroom remains an edible by-solution. Take a look at the Paul Stamets YouTube lecture, six Strategies Mushrooms Can Save The Globe.”
Mathieu and Jiménez can typically be found selling their items on weekends in the organic markets in Oaxaca. They are both more than pleased to talk about the nutritional value of their merchandise which range from naturally their fresh mushrooms, but also as preserves, marinated with either chipotle and nopal or jalapeño and cauliflower. The mushroom’s vitamin B12 can’t be discovered in fruits or vegetables, and accordingly a diet plan which incorporates fungi is very crucial for vegetarians who cannot get B12, most often contained in meats. Mushrooms can effortlessly be a substitute for meats, with the advantage that they are not loaded with antibiotics and hormones typically found in industrially processed meat items.