Profitable Mushroom Business Aims to Save Miombo Woodlands

Miombo Woodlands

Conservationists in Mozambique’s Gilé National Park are taking a unique approach to preserving the indigenous miombo woodlands by transforming the usual harvesting of wild mushrooms into a commercial venture.

Miombo forests cover large swaths of Southern and Central Africa. They provide habitat to hundreds of animals and thousands of plant species. The miombo trees have also supported the livelihoods of locals for thousands of years but are facing increased deforestation as a result.

Locals have been clearing miombo forests to get more arable land since they mainly depend on small-scale farming. Trees are cut for charcoal and building materials, and their roots are used for medicinal purposes. Despite the impact of farming, these mushroom projects may be a saving grace for the Miombo forest, because the business profits create the incentive to keep the trees around in Mozambique.

The Supa Mama Mushroom Project

This project — funded by the French Development Agency — works with over 900 women from 30 groups drawn from communities living in Gilé National Park.

The national park covers about 286,100 hectares (707,000 acres), much of which is covered with miombo woodlands. Locals are restricted from harvesting mushrooms and honey inside Gilé. However, they have a buffer zone around the park covering about 55,600 hectares (137,400 acres) where locals live, farm, and harvest mushrooms and honey. 

Usually, women pick these mushrooms while out doing other activities, such as collecting firewood. But for the past three years, under the guidance of conservationists, they’ve had the commercialization of native Mozambican mushrooms for the first time.

“It’s never been this way”, Project conservation manager Jean-Baptiste told Mongabay. “You can buy mushrooms in a can from Paris or China, but before now you could not buy local ones [in shops].” Jean-Baptiste Roelens acts as the country’s representative for the conservation NGO Nitidae, an organization that offers sustainable solutions to issues developing countries have.

Once harvested, the mushrooms are cleaned, dried, and transported to Mozambique’s capital city, Maputo, where they are packaged and sold with the brand name Supa Mama. 

The Relationship Between Miombo Trees and Mushrooms

Miombo is a colloquial Swahili word used to describe Zambezi Basin woodlands. These woodlands are host to some incredible-looking trees from the Brachystegia, Julbernardia, and Isoberlinia genus. These miombo trees, especially the Brachystegia genus, have an interesting relationship with mushrooms. 

The roots of the miombo trees host mycorrhizal fungi. In nutrient-scarce savannahs, these fungi help the trees acquire nutrients and water beyond the reach of their roots. In turn, the trees provide the fungi (mushrooms) with the much-needed carbohydrates. Providing the locals with a commercial incentive from the mushrooms is one way of conserving the miombo forests.

“Slowly, the community, especially the women, are learning that keeping the trees standing means having a bigger production of mushrooms,” Alessandro Fusari told Mongabay. “Since they’re starting to see commercial results, more and more avoid cutting trees.” Alessandro Fusari is the program manager of the FFS-IGF, a consultancy foundation that promotes the conservation, rehabilitation, and management of natural resources, and which co-manages Gilé National Park with the Mozambican government.

Conservation of Miombo Woodlands Sees an Upsurge in Gilé National Park

The resurgence of Gilé National Park shows that conservation efforts are not futile attempts. The park was established in 1932, but the wildlife was completely wiped out during Mozambique’s civil war between 1977 and 1992. 

Today, most of the wild animals have been reintroduced in the park. They include waterbucks, buffalo, zebras, wildebeests, sable, kudu, and around 50 elephants. The park is thriving again from tourism and research. 

But the miombo trees are not out of the woods yet. They are still at risk from small-scale farmers clearing plots to plant staple crops like maize and cassava or for charcoal fuel.

While ventures like the Supa Mama Project mushroom are a positive step in Gilé’s conservation efforts, according to Jean-Baptiste Roelens, one project alone cannot solve the issue. Not only are mushrooms seasonal, but many locals also sustain themselves through subsistence farming.

But while there is a focus on Miombo trees and the woodlands, many are confident that with more refined ideas and projects, these forests could have a bright future ahead of them.

Other Sustainable Projects in Gilé’s Buffer Zone

Besides the mushrooms project, locals harvest honey in the buffer zone, which can further push the incentives of conserving Miombo forests.

In addition to sustainable projects, The François Sommer Foundation–International Foundation for Wildlife Management (FFS-IGF) hopes to lift the restriction for non-timber harvesting ventures in specific areas within the national park.

The hope is that many different profitable and sustainable methods will come together to create incentives to protect the Miombo Woodlands, providing work and purpose for the locals in the area.