Once we think of mushrooms and the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, the original thing which usually comes to mind is María Sabina, Huautla de Hallucinogenic "magic" mushrooms and jimenez. But slowly that's all changing as a result of the groundbreaking work of Josefina Jimenez and Johann Mathieu in mycology, through their company, Mico-lógica.

Based in the village of Benito Juárez, located in Oaxaca's Ixtlán district (more commonly known as the Sierra Norte, the state's main ecotourism region), Mico-lógica's mission is threefold: to train both Mexicans and visitors to the country in the low-cost cultivation of a variety of mushroom species; to educate about the medicinal, nutritional and environmental (sustainable) value of mushrooms; and to conduct ongoing research regarding optimum climatic regions and the diversity of substrata for mushroom culture.

The French-born Mathieu relocated to Mexico, and Review This website in reality to Huautla de Jimenez, in 2005. "Yes, coming all of the way to Mexico from France to pursue my interest in mushrooms seems like quite a distance to travel," Mathieu describe in a recently available interview in Oaxaca. "But there actually wasn't much of a chance to carry out studies as well as raise a business in Western Europe," he continues, "since reverence for mushrooms had been all but entirely eradicated by The Church throughout centuries; and I learned that Mexico still maintains a respect as well as appreciation for the nutritional and medicinal value of hongos. Mexico is far from mycophobic."

Huautla de Jimenez is much more than a five hour drive from the closest metropolitan center. Accordingly, Mathieu ultimately discovered that staying in Huautla, while holding an historic allure and being in a geographic area conducive to dealing with mushrooms, would hinder his attempts to grow a business and grow widespread interest in learning about fungi. Mathieu started to be cognizant of the burgeoning reputation of Oaxaca's ecotourism communities of the Sierra Norte, and really the Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (regional untamed mushroom festival), held annually in Cuahimoloyas.

Mathieu met Josefina Jimenez at the summertime weekend mushroom event. Jimenez had moved to Oaxaca from hometown Mexico City in 2002. The two shared similar interests; Jimenez had studied agronomy, as well as for around a decade had been dealing with sustainable farming tasks in non-urban farming communities in the Huasteca Potosina area of San Luis Potosí, the mountains of Guerrero and the coast of Chiapas. Mathieu and Jimenez became business, and then living partners in Benito Juárez.

Mathieu and Jimenez are focusing on three mushroom species on their hands on seminars; oyster (seta), reishi and shitake. Their one day workshops are for oyster mushrooms, and two-day clinics because of the latter 2 species of fungus. "With reishi, also to a lesser extent shitake, we are additionally teaching a good bit about the healing uses of mushrooms, hence more hours is required," says Mathieu, "and with oyster mushrooms it's predominantly [but not exclusively] a program on cultivation."

While training seminars are now only given in Benito Juárez, Jimenez and Mathieu plan to expand operations to include the central valleys and coastal areas of Oaxaca. The object is to have a community of producers growing a variety of mushrooms which are optimally suitable for cultivation according to the particular microclimate. Right now there are aproximatelly seventy sub species of oyster mushrooms, and thus as a species, the adaptability of the oyster mushroom to different climatic areas is remarkable. "The oyster can be cultivated in a wide range of different substrata, thus that is what we're experimenting with perfect now," he elucidates. The oyster mushroom can survive when grown on products which would otherwise be waste matter, for instance discard from cultivating beans, sugar cane, agave (including the fibrous waste created in mezcal distillation), peas, the popular river reed known as carriso, sawdust, and the list goes on. Agricultural waste which might otherwise be left to rot or perhaps be used, each with adverse environmental implications, can easily develop substrata for mushroom cultivation. It should be noted, even thought trite, that mushroom cultivation is a highly sustainable, green industry. Over the past several years Mexico has in fact been in the fore in many parts of sustainable industry.

Mathieu exemplifies how mushrooms are able to serve an arguably even greater environmental good: