A Lebanese business is scaling up organic mushroom production while counteracting land scarcity

Wissam Mansour and his family have been growing and harvesting the benefits of mushrooms for many years in Lebanon. And to keep up with the pursuit for more healthy options, they started their own market selling specialty mushrooms through his initiative, Lili’s Farm.

“We [harbored] essential skills for converting existing rural and urban spaces into incubation and fruiting environments, using custom-made climate controls and automation systems as well as locally-sourced [ingredients] to produce organic specialty mushrooms,”
- Mansour says.

To to be in line with the organic sourcing of mushroom, Lili’s Farm does not import any raw materials but upcycles agricultural byproducts as well as recycling waste into mushroom growing substrates. “We wanted to develop a project flexible and adaptable to various production prototypes by simply tweaking controls or changing growing substrate and conditions while contributing to leave a positive impact [on] our community,” Mansour expounds. “Lastly, buying local reduces CO2 emissions from the transport of imported produce.”

While the project strives to control environmental factors and maintain optimal growing conditions, there are other phases of the project such as planting, harvesting, packaging, and delivery that can help sustain the environment along with the community through offering job opportunities.

Read the full article via The Switchers | SwitchMed.

[Photo by Eberhard Grossgasteiger | via Unsplash]