A mushroom farm in Kenya and fungi-based panels give hope for sustainable building

A large mushroom farm near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of a kind. It grows fungi on an industrial scale—not as food for restaurants but as a building material that some Kenyans say could make more people homeowners. The farm produces mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms that a local company then uses to make building materials, which it says are more sustainable than regular brick and mortar. The company, MycoTile, combines the roots with natural fibers and agents to make panels that can be used for everything from roof and wall insulation to interior decor, at a fraction of the cost of building with standard clay bricks. It currently produces about 3,000 square meters of such materials every month. Street vendor Jedidah Murugi, whose house was made with fungi-based construction materials, said she believes "there is no huge difference in the quality of the houses made from brick and these boards." MycoTile's work could be a boon for Nairobi, where local leaders cite a housing crisis that has left many homeless or living in informal settlements and dwelling enclaves, prone to fires and sanitary issues. Official figures say there is a housing deficit of at least two million units in this metropolis of over five million people. Most Kenyans are renters, and those who are homeowners build from the ground up over many years instead of hiring contractors. It is common to find people living in badly finished or incomplete homes to avoid paying rent elsewhere. "Introducing affordable materials like ours taps into an existing huge market and contributes to providing affordable housing solutions," said Mtamu Kililo, MycoTile's founder. Kililo said his company's insulation products cost roughly two-thirds of the price of standard materials. Building a one-bedroom unit in Nairobi using materials such as brick, timber, and tin sheets typically costs up to 150,000 Kenyan shillings (about $1,000) for a simple structure, and the figure can double depending on the quality of finishes, according to estimates from builders. This article was provided by The Associated Press.