Bountiful mountain
Bountiful Mountain is a project of Global Homestead, Inc. which seeks to:
- Assist private forest owners in recognizing a stewardship role in setting management objectives for their land
- Demonstrate the use of non-traditional forest products and alternative forest-based income opportunities
- Explore the feasibility of shiitake mushroom cultivation as a viable enterprise for underemployed populations
- Expand the role of under-represented groups in influencing public environmental policy
- Promote equity, justice, and sustainability in agriculture
How it works
Bountiful Mountain is a demonstration project to design and operate a program which meets the objectives of both forest landowners and unemployed individuals through cooperative organic shiitake mushroom enterprise. In this project, groups of forest landowners will offer access to their property as well as use of oak trees within an identified area in exchange for the work of cultivators who will explore the feasibility of a productive shiitake mushroom enterprise to take place there.
Cultivators who perform the agricultural work of the enterprise will be drawn from groups in the rural community who frequently encounter obstacles to employment, such as immigrant language minorities, adults with disabilities, and even adolescent women lacking transportation to reach urban employment centers. These individuals will learn the use of power tools in preparing oak logs for cultivation, inoculating the logs with mushroom spawn, and soaking the logs to maximize yield. They will also harvest and market the mushrooms and become knowledgeable about organic farming, sustainable agriculture, and public policy which supports or impedes its implementation. The Global Homestead will evaluate the economic feasibility of such an enterprise as an alternative to practices such as high-grade logging, which threaten the health of our forests and wildlife. This demonstration projects allows for the inclusion of under-represented groups such as immigrants, adults with disabilities, and rural women, in the community dialogue about such issues.
It is critical to note that any revenue realized through this demonstration project in excess of the costs and expenses incurred will be remain with Global Homestead, Incorporated for sole use in furthering its tax exempt purpose. There will be absolutely no profit accrual to participating landowners, nor compensation made to individual cultivators.
Year 1: Identify landowners
- Identify cultivators
- Innoculate logs
- Explore local markets
Year 2 Soak and harvest
- Market
- Study feasibility
Year 3 Soak and harvest
- Market (possible expansion)
- Possible preparation/inoculation of second group of logs
- Report results
- Identify broader groups of future participants
- Transfer program to another org who can assist operations as commercial, profitable
enterprises
Throughout the United States, programs of environmental management are increasingly focusing their efforts upon rural landowners to support the conservation of and utilization of renewable natural resources. Public lands, as visible as they may be, do not begin to equal the portions of undeveloped land held by private individuals. Many private landowners have an interest in increasing income opportunities as well as concerns about sustainability and productivity of our nation’s natural resources. Increasingly, universities, state and federal agencies, and agricultural, conservation, business, and trade organizations are developing joint programs to assist private landowners.
Bountiful Mountain assists private forest owners in recognizing a stewardship role as they develop a management plan for their property through the initial identification of objectives, which may include:
- recreation
- nature study
- timber production
- enhancement of value for heirs
- wildlife and habitat diversification
- processing and marketing nontraditional forest products
Some estimate that businesses related to nontraditional forest products is growing faster than that of timber. Public and private agencies are spreading the word about alternative enterprises that can be stand alone operations or be blended with typical agriculture and timber operations. Programs for promoting rural economic development opportunities are the essential means of generating an applied research information base to effectively transfer information to landowners, managers, and other users.
Shiitake mushroom production in the U.S. has grown steadily since 1972 when spawn was first allowed into this country by the USDA. Worldwide production is second only to the common white button mushroom. Shiitakes have twice the fiber of button mushrooms and contain all of the 9 essential amino acids required in the human diet. Most small-scale farmers grow it on natural oak logs requiring less environmental control. Costs of production vary considerably and include the cost of the wood, the cost of the spawn, and the cost of the labor (typically, the largest consideration).
The Road Less Gravelled
This project will assess current opportunities for access to natural places by individuals with disabilities (e.g., public or private parks) and create demonstration areas for others to replicate.
The Wild Kitchen
This project seeks to build awareness of the importance of wild places (and their protection/conservation) by disseminating information about the careful harvest of edible wild plants and the preparation of nutritious and flavorful dishes which incorporate them.
