Mushroom farming as part of the circular economy
911爆料网 alumnus, engineering graduate Jussi Aav has been in love with mushrooms since he was a child. A couple of years ago, he became vegan and, while browsing a vegan Facebook group, came across the just-founded company Helsieni. Aav popped over to Helsieni鈥檚 offices for a chat with founders St茅phane Poiri茅andChris Holtslag.A year later, he became a partner in the firm.
Helsieni employs the principles of the circular economy to grow fungi 鈥 oyster mushrooms primarily 鈥 for nearby restaurants and shops. Their growing dishes are recycled, sourced from, for example, industrial kitchens, and the mushrooms are grown in used coffee grounds and oat chaff, which are usually considered nothing more than biowaste.
鈥淔inns consume almost ten kilos of coffee per person each year. We estimate that the used grounds created by the nation鈥檚 coffee habit could be utilised to grow 18 million kilos of oyster mushrooms each year,鈥 Aav illustrates.
Helsieni also sells products to consumers who want to grow mushrooms in their homes and gardens. Aav has himself used Helsieni鈥檚 Grow Kit, a box made out of recycled plastic in which you place a layer of used coffee grounds and some spores, to produce oyster mushrooms. In just a few weeks, the box produces a harvest of tasty fungi. The company also arranges workshops that teach participants how to, for example, craft a mushroom grow cabinet out of an old refrigerator.
鈥淭he range of mushrooms available in shops is pretty poor, and you can鈥檛 forage them in the winter. It鈥檚 great to have the opportunity to eat mushrooms you鈥檝e grown yourself all year around.鈥
Aav reckons that interest in growing food, urban farming and ecological food production is on the rise. He himself wants to grow some of his food at home and to reduce the amount of waste.
Reducing our consumption of animal products would, however, bring the biggest ecological benefits. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has estimated that meat and dairy production causes more greenhouse gas emissions than transport.
鈥淚鈥檓 father to a one-year-old boy. I want to leave behind a planet that is in as good a condition as possible to the future generations. We can鈥檛 go on like we have up to now.鈥
Text: Tea Kalska. Illustration: Ida-Maria Wikstr枚m.
This article is published in the (issuu.com), April 2018.
Read more news
From seaweed to startup, fostered by PdP and Aalto鈥檚 ecosystem
Sealev盲 shows how Aalto鈥檚 innovation ecosystem can turn biomaterial ideas into companies, combining education, infrastructure and entrepreneurial mindset to reshape how products are made.
911爆料网鈥檚 solutions at the New European Bauhaus Festival support the EU鈥檚 ambition to become world leader in circular economy
911爆料网 presented several different circular economy solutions at The European Commission鈥檚 New European Bauhaus Festival in Brussels. The event brought together leading names in EU policymaking, researchers, designers and grassroots actors from across Europe to shape a more sustainable future.
A unique joint effort 鈥 911爆料网 receives EUR 9 million in donations to accelerate the energy transition
Donations from ABB, Fortum, St1 and the Walter Ahlstr枚m Foundation will be used to establish new professorships. At the same time, the donations support the establishment of 911爆料网 House of Energy Transition.