In nature, there is no waste. Everything decomposes and is returned to the ecosystem. “Our idea is based upon this principle: we support the people and nature in establishing a sustainable ecosystem that reduces waste.” But that is just one of many goals: “We would like to offer healthy, locally produced food that isn’t transported over long distances.” In our cellars, the business makes use of the warm air from the shops and offices in winter and humidity and cool temperature in summer.
How it works?
The coffee by-product is processed using a special technique developed by KawaFungo . During this two-week phase in a dark, moist atmosphere, the mycelium colonises the coffee grounds. If the conditions are right, thousands upon thousands of these microscopic threads bind together while their enzymes turn the coffee grounds into compost. The erstwhile black mass gradually turns almost white.
The fruiting bodies: Mushrooms
Between the sacks, the oyster mushrooms’ metabolism generates warmth as they digest the remaining straw. Steam is introduced where necessary to keep the humidity above 85 per cent. After one to two days, the first tiny mushrooms begin to sprout from the holes in the bags. Another two weeks have passed by the time they develop into huge pale bulges of flesh. The fully grown mushrooms are then picked, stored in wooden crates and sent out for delivery.
But this isn’t the end of the virtuous circle: the humus soil in the sacks, permeated with fungal spores, makes ideal food for earth red wiggler worms . What the mushrooms leave behind provides ideal conditions for production of compost. The residual compost ends up on the fields of a nearby organic farm – as fertiliser.