Mana Mushrooms was 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.
Mana Mushrooms, LLC Boston & Chicago
Founder (entrepreneurial venture) 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’ markets
tags: Agriculture, systems design, mushrooms, ZERI, mushroom cultivation, entrepreneurial