Mush Love in Action: Growing a Mushroom Movement in South London

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In this blog you can learn more about Adi's Urban Mushrooms. I share my start-up principles, ideas, achievements and vision. If you're a mushroom enthusiast or just curious, you might find out how you can benefit from engaging with the fascinating world of fungi and Adi's products and services.

Hello, I'm Adi

I'm the founder of Urban Mushrooms London Ltd. My journey into the world of fungi is rooted in a lifelong passion for nature and sustainability. I've always loved foraging and I've been doing it since I was a teenager in Switzerland, where I am originally from, where I learned my craft from expert mushroom controllers.

But I always dreamed of studying mycology as a pensioner. However, after over 30 years in social work as a practitioner and academic and having just completed a PhD in social work education, I decided not to wait for retirement and instead bring this dream to life in practice. I was also driven by a desire to become more authentic by integrating my different passions.

So, in 2021, I founded a non-profit social enterprise and started trading as Adi's Urban Mushrooms to create a space where people could experience the amazing potential of fungi.

Learning and sharing knowledge is a big part of who I am. I spent over 15 years as a lecturer, and I love engaging with people to help others learn about nature's hidden wonders - whether that's through growing mushrooms at home, learning to cook with them, or understanding their role in ecology and sustainability.

A Community of Fungi Enthusiasts

Since 2021, Adi's Urban Mushrooms has quietly been growing mushrooms, but also something else: a community. One that's curious about fungi, interested in growing their own food, eager to explore local ecosystems through mushroom foraging and gardening, and passionate about doing things differently.

What started with a few oyster mushroom grow bags in the basement of The Remakery Brixton, has evolved into a small-but-mighty social enterprise rooted in mush love - my name for a deeper connection to the fungal world and to each other.

I now grow fresh mushrooms, craft mushroom tinctures, and offer DIY grow kits. I also run cultivation workshops in community gardens and at The Remakery, along with mushroom foraging walks and other fungi-focused events.

But more than any single product or service, Adi's Urban Mushrooms exists to create a place for people to connect with nature, with knowledge, and with each other.

A Mush Love-Fuelled Social Enterprise

When I founded Adi's Urban Mushrooms in 2021, I didn't know exactly what shape it would take. I just knew I wanted to build something real. Something based on what I loved (mushrooms), what I cared about (community, ecology, learning about fungi), and what I wanted to see more of in the world.

This meant keeping the business small, local, and grounded in people rather than profit. It meant designing a model that would allow others to get hands-on with mushrooms too, not just as consumers, but as growers, experimenters, and community builders.

That's where the term "mush love" came from. It's about spreading knowledge, learning together, and joy. It's about demystifying fungi, sharing techniques, celebrating their weirdness and beauty, and offering low-barrier ways to get involved - whether that's growing oyster mushrooms on cardboard at home, joining one of my mushroom cultivation workshops or foraging walks, or just having a chat about your favourite fungus at a South London Mushroom Club event.

How I Grew the Company: Rebel Entrepreneurship in Practice

From the outside, Adi's Urban Mushrooms might look like a typical "green" startup. But under the surface, this business has grown on its own terms - outside of traditional funding models, growth targets, or business planning. Instead, I followed the principles of Rebel Entrepreneurship - a movement built around challenging the idea that business success has to come from big investors or high-growth hustle culture.

Here's what that looked like for me:

Action before perfection: I ran workshops in community gardens before I had a logo. I sold grow kits before the website was fancy. And people showed up anyway.

Adapting constantly: Every failed batch taught me something. Every successful workshop shaped the next one. Mushrooms are teachers too - they reward patience and observation.

Investing in values: Instead of marketing budgets or PR, I put money into enhancing the mushroom farm and community building and collaborations.

Community over competition: I've built networks with other growers, makers, community gardeners, and social entrepreneurs. I share knowledge, materials, and sometimes even clients.

This approach isn't easy - especially financially. But it's helped the project stay true to its roots. By using mainly self-built or second hand or repurposed equipment, I kept the financial risks low. It's also allowed the business to be more flexible, so it can keep evolving in response to real needs and local opportunities.

Products: Mushrooms You Can Eat, Grow, and Trust

I offer a small but carefully curated selection of mushroom-derived products:

All of these are made or grown by hand in my purpose-built setup. If you've been to a workshop or picked up a grow kit, chances are you've seen the spores of this operation up close.

By cultivating and buying mushrooms locally, we can reduce food mileage and help combat climate change by supporting a local, circular economy. You see, I'm not trying to compete with mass-produced supplements or imported mushrooms. What I offer is small-batch, low-waste, and local - for people who want to know where their food and functional fungi come from.

And after the mushrooms have digested their substrate, the spent bags go to a local composting project run by South London Urban Growers, who in turn produce and give away nutritious compost that can be used to grow vegetables.

Services: Mushroom Cultivation Workshops

I run regular mushroom cultivation workshops at The Remakery and in community gardens across London. These sessions are open to beginners and cover all the basics:

Participants always leave with a small mushroom grow bag - and often, a big grin. These workshops are about empowerment as much as education. I want people to feel that they can grow their own food and medicine, even in small spaces.