Project: Mushroom Farming

Another project that we wanted to help with was their mushroom farming.  They have used the same soil or sawdust for so many years that it has drained all the nutrients out of it and it is no longer yielding produce like it should.  So, off we went shopping to buy the products that we needed: bags, sawdust, rice dust and rice powder.  First of all, let me show you what their mushroom farm looks like:

Is that not just incredible?  They had just harvested before we got there and that is why there isn't too many to see.  They keep them in an enclosed room with almost all the light blocked out.  They had to open things up for us to take pictures.  Definitely a hot and humid environment!

Here we are shopping for what we needed.  Shopping was interesting.



We ordered and had the sawdust delivered.  We wanted to get them enough to last for awhile.  450 bags ought to do it!

First, we had to sift it.  We started off just doing 10 bags.

Then we had to mix it together and add water.

And mix it together some more.......

Then we tarped it overnight to let everything sit together with the moisture.

Of course, we had lots of helpers!  (They had drawn faces on their tummys)

Then came the huge job of putting it together in the bags.  We called the local missionaries and asked if they needed service hours!  Thank heavens they did.  Remember this was only 10 of the 450 bags!

Here is our final product!  We filled 281 bags!  What a huge, sweaty, dirty job--but definitely worth it!  This will have to be an ongoing project for them to work on after we are gone.