mushrooms are back!

 

After the carpenter disappeared for a couple weeks, the mushroom grow house was nearing completion

And finally, the carpenter finished his part

I want to give an update now because of the progress we have made with the mushroom project (I’m pretty proud of us!) – as is said here, “we’ve done well.” Even though it seems like I’ve been working on flood recovery for such a long time, it only took a little over 2 months to rebuild the grow house and the shelves, then purchase the first batch of substrate and supply the first harvest.

Mr. Kyei, who makes ceremonial umbrellas using bamboo, and Ebenezer, who was the mushroom manager for a couple months prior to the flood and who is happy to stay on while we get underway again, worked together to make the bamboo shelves for the substrate.  

Bamboo salvaged from the original grow house

Ebenezer (standing) and Mr. Kyei (HFL president)

This is all definitely thanks to some donations received early on. Some friends wired money and, the very night of the flood, I received a message from an organization called Cross Catholic Outreach. In May or June, I had applied for a donation to be used for direct assistance with some of our members and for building up Hope for Life branches. I responded to their email notification of the donation a few days after the flood, explained about the destruction and asked if I could divert the donation towards emergency needs and rebuilding, and they agreed.

completed shelves, looking towards the door

to the right of the door, looking back

looking to the left

A view from the back of the grow house. The blue plastic table with detachable legs was in the original grow house and, somehow, it showed up (along with the legs!!) in the rubble and was salvaged. The baskets are all new. 

The previous polytank (the name for water tanks here) washed away. It was two to three times the size of the one pictured here. This one was used for something else in the past and had been in storage for the last several years. It's been resurrected for the mushrooms. However, it had some leaks. Ebenezer and I were working on plugging those up...so far so good....

the first batch of substrate!!

So, the mushroom project is gradually underway once again. This past Tuesday, I delivered the first harvest from our first batch of recovery substrate. Fifteen kilos (roughly 33 pounds) of fresh oyster mushrooms. Now that we understand a bit better about how the process works, I’m trying to build up the mushroom project in a more planned, structured way, by buying some substrate each week, rather than a larger quantity right away. What happens is it comes to our grow house and sits there for a few days to acclimate. Then it gets opened and watered and usually in 3 to 5 days, the mushrooms start coming and we get our first harvest - - - our first “flush.” We can then keep them in the refrigerator for a few days until we have enough to make it worthwhile to supply. The gradual purchasing of substrate means there should be more frequent flushes and a more constant supply of mushrooms.

a week later, a second batch of substrate

another week later, and here is where we bought the third batch of substrate

Joe was home on the day we bought the third batch of substrate and helped Ebenezer place them on the shelves

Ebenezer watering

The first client I supplied is a woman who has a fascinating outdoor kitchen area, with huge boiling cauldrons, where she makes only local dishes. However, they are all vegetarian style. For several months prior to the flood, she had become a regular customer and I love supporting her business. It’s a unique concept here, in a land where not eating meat tends to mean you haven’t eaten and that you cannot possibly be satisfied with what you swallowed. She has a small business and every time I go to supply, her workers all seem happy and friendly and the business seems to be doing well – filled with business people throughout the week. This time when they saw me coming with the 15 kgs, the owner (Pat) and the manager (Felicia) both started chanting, “our boyfriend’s back! Our boyfriend’s back!” I needed the smiles they gave. I have only eaten there once because she is across town, but I look forward to the next set of visitors coming so I have a good excuse to go across town to eat there again.

Unfortunately, Pat does not want me to take any pictures of her place, so, it’ll just need to be imagined….and enjoyed if you come to Accra.

    Just a reminder, if you can help share my GoFundMe, it will be greatly appreciated. We still have car problems and I'm trying to raise the money needed for a replacement vehicle. Feel free to also share the blog - - thanks!  

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