Mushroom Tea Project

By Robin, Maud & Sanne

Our central mission revolves around creating sustainable and efficient tea bags as our main goal within this project.
Robyn, Maud & Sanne

Agoo!

For three months we (Sanne, Robyn, and Maud) will be based in Ghana for our minor International Entrepreneurship and Development. We are working together with the start-up JDEVS Limited Company. This company is founded by Vivian, Desmond, Jacqueline, and Elias, who all participated in the Archipelago program at the Kwadaso Agricultural College. This educational experience was led by experts from Kwadaso Argic College, Delft University of Technology, and Holland Greentech

JDEVS Mushroom Tea is an innovative project aiming to minimize food waste. Oyster Mushrooms thrive in Ghana, using less water and land to grow on than other products. However, after harvesting, the mushrooms should be consumed within 1 or 2 days. JDEVS found an innovative solution for long-term storage and consumption of the mushrooms, namely making tea out of it. This is not only good for the environment, but also empowers the entrepreneurial mindset by generating their own income and hopefully creating more employment in the future.

However, one of the primary challenges JDEVS faces is related to the thickness of their tea bags. Right now, the tea bags are quite thick which necessitates a larger quantity of tea for a satisfactory taste. Consequently, there is a need to investigate and develop thinner and environmentally friendly tea bags. Moreover, it is important that tea bags can be produced locally, reducing the reliance on imported tea bags from distant sources like China. Moreover, the current dehydrator used for the mushrooms is relatively small and consumes a significant amount of energy. Building a solar dryer in collaboration with multiple stakeholders is therefore an important activity for the coming weeks.

Robyn, Maud en Sanne