expand_less seeMana alsoMushrooms www.manamushrooms.comwas a concept born from ZERI principles of nature as a model for business, reframing "wastes" which are not found in nature as "inputs" for systems design projects. In this case, I used industrial by-products from picture frame moulding manufactiring and brewery spent grain and CIP fluids as inputs to generate oyster mushrooms.
 
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Mana Mushrooms, LLC                                                                                                                                                     Boston & Chicago
Founder (entrepreneurial venture)                                                                2005-  May  2008 
 ·                                                                                                    2005-2008

Entrepreneur in sustainable agriculture and industrial symbiosis, using wastes as inputs
·        Financed, designed, and built laboratory, clean room, and cultivation space for research
·        Developed industrial partnerships and recaptured byproducts using nature as a model
·        Conducted lab research; collected & analyzed data to determine cost of production
·        Researched processes to reduce waste for exotic edible mushroom cultivation
·        Authored, published hundreds of pages of content documenting and explaining research
·        Worked with River Valley Kitchens to learn retail side of farmers’ marketsmarkets