The Fungi Entrepreneurship Lab

We applied for this project to address critical needs in Greece and across the EU, including high unemployment rates and a lack of eco-innovation. Our goal was to provide practical training in mushroom cultivation, biomaterial building, and regenerative entrepreneurship to enhance employability and offer sustainable livelihood opportunities. We aimed to contribute to the transition to regenerative practices by promoting fungi-based entrepreneurship and sustainable materials. Additionally, we focused on facilitating a transnational exchange of skills, fostering cross-border collaborations and diverse perspectives on regenerative practices. Creating a community of regenerative entrepreneurs was a central objective, enabling idea sharing and mutual support. Moreover, our project aimed to contribute to the knowledge commons by creating educational videos on fungi-related topics, making valuable resources accessible to a broader audience. Overall, our project addressed unemployment, promoted sustainability, facilitated skill exchange, fostered a community of regenerative entrepreneurs, and contributed to knowledge sharing.

TFEL had three main objectives: 1) Provide valuable practical training to participants and other adult learners reached through our program. We aimed to equip them with the hands-on knowledge and expertise that would enable them to engage in mushroom growing, mycelium-based material building, and regenerative entrepreneurship and innovation. 2) Create and grow a community of regenerative entrepreneurs in Greece, Austria, and across the EU that support community food self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on destructive industries. The intent was to unite individuals with a shared interest in regenerative entrepreneurship, foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking among them, ultimately leading to the development of socially and environmentally responsible businesses. 3) Facilitate a transnational exchange of skills and knowledge and strengthen our own capacity for community food self-sufficiency. We aimed to promote international cooperation and the exchange of best practices between participating organisations, trainers, and participants, to be multiplied through each of their networks; and to enhance the capacity for community food self-sufficiency in the regions represented by the participating organisations.

Designed to achieve our objectives, our core activities blended in-person and online learning, fostered community growth, and transnational exchange of fungi-related skills and knowledge: A) 15-DAY TRAINING at Re-Green Eco Culture Center equipped participants with skills in mushroom cultivation, innovative biomaterials and regenerative entrepreneurship. B) E-LEARNING VIDEO SERIES of 3 learning modules makes our learning content freely available to a wide audience interested in fungi and regenerative entrepreneurship (see ReGreen’s YouTube: bit.ly/4ab6Pas and TFEL landing page: bit.ly/tfel23). C) PROGRAMME DESIGN, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING included design of curriculum and marketing material, finding specialist trainers, defining target group needs, selecting participants, and organising in-person and online project components. D) SIX ONLINE FOLLOW-UP SESSIONS facilitated knowledge exchange between participants and trainers, extending the collective learning journey and nurtured a community of regenerative changemakers. E) IMPACT EVALUATION included digital and offline data collection; assessing project impact on participants' practical skills and career paths and impact on participating organisations and wider stakeholders.

TFEL contributed to knowledge sharing, skill development and professional growth of all actors involved, and fostered a surge in interest around regenerative practices. The tangible outcomes and results include: Our surveys indicate 100% of participants gained practical skills during in-person learning and follow-up sessions. 70% have already applied them in their professional lives. Post-program entrepreneurial activity doubled among participants–70% of participants were in the ideation stage or had developed tangible business ideas, with 50% actively engaged in business planning. We created an educational video series, contributing to the knowledge commons, multiplying aforementioned results and promoting accessible learning in novel fields. Partners experienced substantial organisational development. They gained valuable skills in program topics; enhanced their capacity to work, learn and cooperate at EU level; and forged new collaborations (e.g., submitted 4 new E+ applications). We also sparked interest in regenerative fungi practices in our wider community. TFEL received over 4,000 website views, 200 interest inquiries and 100 submitted programme applications.