When we imagine connected with mushrooms and often the southern South america state involving Oaxaca, first thing which customarily comes to mind can be María Sabina, Huautla via Jiménez and hallucinogenic “magic” mushrooms. But slowly that’s all changing as a new result of this cutting edge work of Josefina Jiménez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, through his or her company, Mico-lógica. 
Based in this village of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca’s Ixtlán center (more commonly known as the Sierra Norte, the state’s major ecotourism region), Mico-lógica’s vision is usually threefold: to train each Mexicans and visitors to be able to the state in the low-cost cultivation of any range of mushroom varieties; to instruct about the medical, dietary and environmental (sustainable) associated with mushrooms; and to do continuing research regarding optimum damage through climate districts and the particular diversity associated with substrata to get mushroom customs.
The French-born Mathieu moved to Mexico, in addition to in fact to help Huautla via Jiménez, within 2006. “Yes, coming to Mexico from Portugal to be able to engage in my interest in mushrooms seems like a prolonged way to travel, inch Mathieu defined in a new current interview in Oaxaca. “But there really had not been much of an opportunity to help conduct studies together with develop a new business throughout American Europe, ” this individual proceeds, “since reverence to get mushrooms experienced been just about completely eradicated by The Chapel over the course involving centuries; and I learned that Mexico still sustains the respect and thanks for the medicinal and nutritional benefit of hongos. Mexico can be definately not mycophobic. “
Huautla via Jiménez is additional than a several hour or so drive from the closest thing metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu sooner or later realized that keeping yourself in Huautla, while having the historical allure together with being in a good geographic area conducive in order to operating with mushrooms, would prohibit his efforts to grow the business and cultivate popular interest in finding out about fungi. Mathieu evolved into cognizant of the strong reputation of Oaxaca’s ecotourism residential areas of the Montana Septentrión, and indeed the particular Verbena Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional wild mushroom festival), placed annually around Cuahimoloyas.
Mathieu met Josefina Jiménez in the summertime weekend mushroom function. Jiménez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City inside 2002. The two distributed similar interests; Jiménez experienced studied agronomy, and regarding nearly a decade possessed been working with sustainable agriculture projects throughout rural farming communities within the Huasteca Potosina place regarding San Luis Potosí, the mountains of Batallador and the coast associated with Chiapas. Mathieu in addition to Jiménez became business, and lifetime partners in Benito Juárez.
Mathieu and Jiménez are concentrating on three mushroom species in their hands-on training seminars; oyster (seta), shitake plus reishi. Their one-day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day treatment centers for your latter two kinds of infection. “With reishi, and to a smaller level shitake, we’re furthermore instructing some sort of fair touch concerning the medicinal uses regarding mushrooms, so more moment is required, ” says Mathieu, “and with oyster mushrooms it’s predominantly [but not really exclusively] the study course on cultivation. “
Although training seminars are now solely given throughout Benito Juárez, Mathieu and Jiménez plan to broaden operations to include both equally the particular central valleys plus coast regions of Oaxaca. The object is to own a network of manufacturers growing different mushrooms that are optimally suited for nurturing good particular microclimate. There are around 70 sub-species of oyster mushrooms, together with thus as a types, the adaptability of this oyster mushroom to several damage through climate regions is exceptional. “The oyster can become grown within a lot connected with different substrata, that is certainly what we’re playing along with right now, ” he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can thrive when grown about products which would normally turn out to be waste, such while discard by cultivating coffee beans, sugar cane, agave (including the fibrous waste generated in mezcal distillation), peas, the common river reed known as carriso, sawdust, plus the list goes on the subject of. Agricultural waste products which may possibly otherwise be left to be able to rot or become burnt off, each with negative the environmental implications, can form substrata for mushroom cultivation. magic mushrooms delivered has to be taken into account, though trite, that mushroom cultivation is a highly lasting, green industry. Above the past a number of years Mexico has in fact also been at the fore inside quite a few areas of lasting business.
Mathieu exemplifies how mushrooms can serve the most likely even greater ecological good:
“They can have up to thirty million times their mass, getting implications for inhibiting erosion. They’ve been used to help clean up engine oil moisture through absorption and therefore will be an important vehicle for habitat restoration. Research offers recently been done with mushrooms in the fight versus carpenter ant exploitation; it’s been suggested that the particular using fungi has often the potential to totally revamp the pesticide market in an environmentally friendly method. You will find literally hundreds involving other earth-friendly applications for mushroom work with, and in each case often the mushroom remains an edible by-product. Take a go through the Paul Stamets YouTube spiel, six Ways Mushrooms Conserve Typically the World. “
Mathieu and Jiménez can frequently be found selling their products about breaks in the organic markets throughout Oaxaca. They’re both eager to go over the vitamins and minerals of their particular products which range by the natural way their fresh mushrooms, and also as preserves, marinated using possibly chipotle together with nopal or maybe jalapeño in addition to cauliflower. The mushroom’s vitamin B12 cannot be found within fruits or veggies, together with correctly a diet which will involves fungi is really crucial for vegetarians that cannot get B12, most frequently contained in meat. Mushrooms are always a replacement for meats, while using advantage that they are definitely not loaded with antibiotics and human hormones usually found in industrially processed beef products.
Mico-lógica furthermore market teas and even extracts made out of different mushroom species, every single formulated since either a supplement, or even for their medicamentoso properties. While neither Mathieu neither Jiménez has the pharmacological background to assign mycological treatment method for serious problems, Mathieu’s own research points to this medicinal use of mushrooms dating coming from pre-history, to the offer. They notes properties regarding mushrooms which can assist to restore the immune system, and thus the make use of of fungus infection as a new complement in the therapy of tumor in addition to SUPPORTS, and their utility around controlling diabetic and treating high levels of cholesterol.
“We should all be embracing the natural manufacturing of mushrooms, ” Mathieu concludes. “It’s so simple, it involves a small capital investment, and it offers significant rewards, both for anyone ingesting hongos with regard to nutritional and healing reasons, as well as for the producers, actually small-scale. Mico-lógica also offers dried mushrooms. Yet most of the dried up mushrooms sold in Mexico will be imported from China, together with are not organic. Is actually some sort of actual shame about several ranges. “
Mexico and mushrooms have appear a new long way ever since the era of Oaxaca’s María Sabina. With the prolonged attempts of Mathieu, Jiménez and Mico-lógica, it have to not be much time before the world understands plus embraces the magic involving mushrooms within a quite a bit broader situation.