Weeks 5&6: Trip Preparations

Our focus for the past two weeks has been preparing for our trip to Sierra Leone.  We have been developing business models for both our venture and for our customers that will purchase mushroom production systems.  Based on our projections, both Thera Metrey and its customers will break even a year after beginning operations. We have also been refining our slidedeck so that we will be prepared to brief our team in country and pitch our project at any time.  Focusing on our slides has not only produced a strong presentation, but has reinforced our understanding of the ins and outs of the project. Knowing all the details of the many aspects of the venture - mushroom cultivation, construction of the structure, business models, etc - will allow us to be more efficient and effective when working in country.

Growth Projections for Thera Metrey

In preparation for our trip, we have inoculated more jars of grain with oyster mushroom mycelium to bring to Sierra Leone for use in our pilot farms.  We also inoculated straw substrate with some of the successful grain spawn in order to try and test the health of the spawn and viability of our substrate procedure.  Unfortunately there won’t be time before we leave for the mushrooms to fruit, but we hope to see some growth to give us more validation of our methods. We are also collecting other materials to pack such as thermometers, backup grain, and backup plug spawn so that we are prepared for any and every obstacle.

Millet and Sorghum with healthy oyster mushroom mycelium.