By SHAILEE SHAH
Nearly two decades after the Rwandan genocide, “the scars are still visible in the landscape and the people,” Bryan Sobel MS ’13 said. The solution, or at least part of it – mushrooms. Sobel spent two weeks in the country helping rural women set up a cultivation project growing mushrooms to consume in their own households and to sell.
The mushrooms, in particular oyster mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus, that Sobel was working with, are healthy.
With protein values comparable to meat and none of the saturated fat, a high concentration of vitamin D, iron and zinc and immune-stimulating properties, they are the perfect addition to the diet of women with children suffering from malnutrition, according to Sobel.
Additionally, mushrooms are a highly valued crop in the culinary culture of Rwanda, enabling women to earn a good profit by selling them.
Courtesy of Bryan Sobel MS ’13Farming fungi | Bryan Sobel MS ’13 uses his knowledge of horticulture to help women in Rwanda sustainably grow mushrooms.