Today on Mushroom Hour we have the blessing to interview Benjamin Lillibridge. Benjamin is the founder of Big Island based Mālama Mushrooms, a business focused on bringing superfood mushroom extracts to the masses for immunity, brain health, and energy support.
This week's journey takes us to the Big Island of Hawaii - one of the most unique biomes on the planet. With Ben as our guide, we'll take a tropical tour through the fungal landscape of the Big Island, including a look at some of Hawaii's endemic fungi. We'll learn how a mission to catalog Hawaii's fungi was sparked during a Radical Mycology community gathering that inspired him to found the Hawaii Mycoflora project with Jeff Stahlman and secure grant funding. What kinds of unique fungi are endemic to Hawaii? How does the relatively young geography of the islands play a role in fungal populations?
Ben has a rich background in agriculture and food systems, with years spent working on permaculture farms and with value-added food products. He has been able to leverage his knowledge and talents to found a medicinal mushroom company that employs ethical sourcing to deliver high-quality mushroom supplements. Staying true to his own integrity and love of fungi, Ben has been able to use his company's success as a platform. He plans to use the growth of Mālama Mushrooms to fund the creation of vertically integrated medicinal mushroom supply chains in Hawaii and fund his mycoflora research.
We wrap up our conversation talking about Ben's work with the Clarity Project - an Oahu-based organization that hopes to create a conversation around the classification of psilocybin-containing mushrooms as medicinal substances. How important is it for people to share their psychedelic experiences as a community and how can that lead to safer practices when it comes to engaging with entheogens?
Thanks for listening and Mush Love!
Directed, Recorded, Produced by: Mushroom Hour
(@welcome_to_mushroom_hour)
Music by: Ancient Baby
Art by: Wyn Di Stefano
Episode Resources
Hawaii Mycoflora Project on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mycoflora-of-hawaii-2019-new-list
Mālama Mushrooms IG: https://www.instagram.com/malamamushrooms/
Mālama Mushrooms Website: https://www.malamamushrooms.com/
The Clarity Project: https://clarityproject.org/
Ep. 37: Mycomaker - Building Mycotectura and Spreading Mycophilia in Ecuador (feat. Nelson Dueñas)
Ep. 36: Uncharted Mushrooms - Tropical Fungi in South America and Central Africa (feat. Prof. Terry Henkel)
Ep. 34: Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast & the Future of Biodiversity Research (feat. Christian Schwarz)
Ep. 33: Marrow of the Mountain - Defending Biodiversity in Ecuador (feat. Dr. Roo Vandergrift)
Ep. 32: Empowering BIPOC Communities by Going Back to the Land (feat. Indy Srinath)
Ep. 31: How to Quit Your Job and Devote Your Life to Mushrooms (feat. John Michelotti)
Ep. 30: Leah Mycelia - Making Friends with Mushrooms, Mycoheterotrophs & Slime Molds (feat. Leah Bendlin)
Ep. 29: Researching the Mysteries of the Mycorrhizal Network (feat. Professor Tom Bruns)
Ep. 28: Fungi Foundation - How to Save the World by Protecting & Promoting Fungi (feat. Giuliana Furci)
Ep. 27: MushRoaming - Yartsa Gunbu Cordyceps of Tibet & Amazon Adventures (feat. Daniel Winkler)
Ep. 26: Entangled Life - How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures (feat. Merlin Sheldrake)
Ep. 25: Sweden's Legends, Myths, Magicks and Mushrooms (feat. Saga Mariah Sandberg)
Ep. 24: Saga Mariah Flora - Illustrating Biology & Sweden's Enchanting Mushrooms (feat. Saga Mariah Sandberg)
Ep. 22: Fungi Academy - Sacred Mycology & Transformational Community in Guatemala (feat. Oliver Merivee)
Ep. 21: Mycosymbiote - Cordyceps, Citizen Science & Systemic Change (feat. William Padilla-Brown)
Ep. 20: Yellow Elanor - Sharing a Love of Mushrooms with Self, Family, Community and the World (feat. Rachel Zoller)
Ep. 19: Fascinated by Fungi - Foraged Cuisine, Science Communication & the Hidden Universe of Yeast (feat. Dr. Gordon Walker)
Ep. 18: Breakfast of Champignonz - Exploring Nature as Therapy, Mushroom Taxonomy & Etymology (feat. Anna Henning)
Ep. 17: Corvidopolis - Art, Nature & The Mysteries of the Mushroom Tarot (feat. Chris Adams)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Strange by Nature Podcast
Blurry Creatures
Bigfoot Society
Bigfoot Eyewitness Radio
My Bigfoot Sighting