Mushroom Buddies offers employment for individuals with mental disabilities
Have you ever ever tried contemporary, regionally grown mushrooms? In the event you frequent farmers’ markets, you might need come throughout a bunch of people with particular wants proudly promoting mushrooms they’ve cultivated themselves. These freshly picked mushrooms come from Mushroom Buddies, a social enterprise run by individuals with mental disabilities underneath the co-operative E4PID — quick for Employment for Individuals with Mental Disabilities.
We spoke with William Teo, a father to a toddler with mental disabilities and present chairman of E4PID, to learn the way the initiative sprouted, and what it takes to develop mushrooms — and significant employment — in Singapore.
E4PID is the organisation behind Mushroom Buddies
E4PID is the co-operative behind Mushroom Buddies. Based in 2011 by a bunch of oldsters of youngsters with particular wants, the goal was to enhance the standard of lifetime of their youngsters and others with related challenges.
Whereas they believed that charities play an essential function, these organisations typically lack the enterprise experience to create long-term, sustainable employment. To vary that, these mother and father opted to construct a social enterprise that gives actual jobs and salaries for individuals with mental disabilities.
Their downside was clear: after graduating from particular colleges at 18, many people with mental disabilities battle to seek out work. Even those that safe positions in open employment — workplaces the place they work together with non-disabled colleagues — typically face difficulties sustaining their jobs with out enough assist.
“Like anybody else, individuals with disabilities should have choices and alternatives to decide on what sort of work they wish to do,” William stated. “Significant employment enhances their high quality of life.”
As we speak, 5 of E4PID’s 10 board members are actively concerned in operating Mushroom Buddies, together with William. As a co-operative, E4PID actively channels earnings again to its members and staff, which suggests salaries are dictated by its earnings.
E4PID can be an affiliate member of the Singapore Nationwide Co-operative Federation (SNCF) — the nationwide apex physique that helps, represents, and connects co-operatives throughout Singapore.
From partnerships to independence: the early days of Mushroom Buddies
Beginning as a pilot undertaking in 2012 as a partnership with Everbloom Mushroom Farm, E4PID offered 12 individuals with particular wants the chance to work on the farm.
In keeping with William, round 40% of individuals with mental disabilities find yourself in day care centres with out employment, whereas solely a small minority maintain open employment, corresponding to at shops like Uniqlo, performing easy duties.
“With out correct assist, intellectually disabled people typically lose their jobs,” he defined. “At E4PID, we goal to shut the hole between open and sheltered employment.
In Oct 2021, Mushroom Buddies formally started life, supported by a container donated by waste administration firm Blue Planet.
Mushroom Buddies: rising with objective
As we speak, Mushroom Buddies operates out of two container tons situated at Sprout Hub, an city farm and group area situated within the former Henderson Secondary College constructing. One container serves because the farm, and the opposite is used for packing harvested mushrooms.
The workforce contains eight employees with mental disabilities, supported by round 40 volunteers. A component-time supervisor, Ong Chin Wah, former chairman and co-founder of E4PID, helps oversee operations. The staff come from voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) such because the Singapore Down Syndrome Affiliation, MINDS, and St. Andrew’s Autism Centre.
Every morning, a rotating workforce of 4 to 5 volunteers works alongside the workers, fostering teamwork whereas permitting the workers to keep up independence of their duties. Mushroom Buddies additionally collaborates with these VWOs to discover increasing its city farming mannequin into their premises.
In keeping with William, sustainable open employment for individuals with particular wants stays a key problem in Singapore, as typical work environments typically don’t accommodate their talents. At Mushroom Buddies, the main target is on a protected, affected person, and versatile office, with manageable duties that empower workers to thrive.
Many volunteers had by no means interacted with individuals with particular wants earlier than becoming a member of the farm, however now work alongside them as true colleagues. William highlighted that this inclusive atmosphere fosters a deep sense of group and camaraderie, boosting the vanity, psychological well-being, and bodily well being of staff and trainees alike.
The enterprise of mushrooms
Mushroom Buddies presently cultivates three premium mushroom varieties — pearl oyster, lion’s mane, and abalone mushrooms. These are priced round S$5.45–$9.90 a pack, relying on the range. William acknowledged the premium price ticket, however emphasised that a lot of the worth comes from the onerous work of the differently-abled people, who take possession and satisfaction of their duties.
“We wish to give our employees a way of self-worth by way of a job that rewards them with a wage and permits them to be pleased with their onerous work.”
These mushrooms are temperate varieties much less generally present in Singapore, and are natural, pesticide-free, and freshly packed on the market inside one to 2 days — not like imported mushrooms which are typically chemically handled for longer shelf life.
They buy pre-inoculated logs (containing rice bran, sawdust, and mushroom spores) from a provider in Malaysia. As soon as in Singapore, the mushrooms are allowed to fruit for a couple of week earlier than harvesting. Every log yields mushrooms for 3 to 5 harvest cycles earlier than being thought-about spent.
Some clients at farmer markets grew to become Mushroom Buddies’ companions, the place cooks determine to collaborate after studying the story behind their mushrooms. Excessive-end eating places type the primary buyer base, with Black Cherry and Yhingthai Palace among the many notable stockists. On common, Mushroom Buddies produces 8–10 kilograms of mushrooms day by day, and over 300 kilograms in good months.
Regardless of their quick one-week shelf life, nothing goes to waste. Unsold mushrooms are became merchandise like mushroom chips and pâté, obtainable by way of their web site or at farmers’ market pop-ups. Firms often place bulk orders as items for workers. In addition they function a donor scheme the place surplus mushrooms and merchandise are distributed to aged properties and soup kitchens.
The by-products of mushroom farming — spent logs and meals waste — are processed by way of a composter, demonstrating Mushroom Buddies’ zero-waste, round farming mannequin. The ensuing compost is offered to clients like Gardens by the Bay, with proceeds reinvested into paying staff and sustaining the enterprise.
Workers sometimes work two to a few hours a day, paid hourly, a number of weekdays every week, relying on their preferences and availability. They take cost of duties corresponding to harvesting, trimming, sorting, packaging, and cleansing. William recollects accommodating workers with specific wants — for instance, a claustrophobic worker was given various duties outdoors of the containers and have become a long-term workforce member.
William highlighted: “This pseudo-sheltered mannequin provides them flexibility. They will work with associates whereas socialising with non-disabled individuals in a supportive atmosphere. We engineer our work to suit the workers we’ve got.”
“We concentrate on their talents as a substitute of their disabilities,” he added.
By producing regionally and sustainably, Mushroom Buddies additionally contributes to Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal — to provide 30% of the nation’s dietary wants regionally by 2030.
Collaborations and initiatives
Via a volunteer’s connection, Mushroom Buddies was launched to Floor-Up Initiative (GUI), which supplied them area at its new Yishun facility to determine their subsequent farm and assist growth plans in 2026. In addition they plan to introduce extra mushroom varieties on the new web site with three climate-controlled containers.
To teach the bigger society, Mushroom Buddies hosts farm excursions, workshops, college and office shows, and company social accountability (CSR) initiatives. These actions present alternatives for the group to have interaction with sustainability and inclusion whereas studying about the advantages of mushrooms firsthand.
“At Mushroom Buddies, it’s not simply concerning the enterprise but additionally about educating the broader group about differently-abled individuals and inclusion,” William stated.
“Folks with or with out disabilities generally have no idea how you can behave round each other as a result of a scarcity of interplay between the 2 teams. We wish to enhance that interplay with our work,” William highlighted. “We’re proud that our employees, who initially got here in reserved, later grew to become extra open and even attempt to interact with strangers after working with us.”
Mushroom Buddies has been recognised for its efforts previously 5 years. Some achievements embody profitable three consecutive years of SFA-approved organically grown mushrooms and clinching Honeycombers Sustainability Awards — Silver winner for Greatest Sustainable Initiative with an Impression in 2024 and 2025.
Offering job alternatives for extra individuals with disabilities sooner or later
Trying forward, the workforce is set to scale up manufacturing.
Their long-term hopes are to extend wages, create extra job alternatives for individuals with mental disabilities, and finally develop employment to incorporate individuals with different kinds of disabilities.
E4PID can be exploring different sectors to construct social enterprises, offering extra choices for individuals with disabilities to enhance their high quality of life. William speaks on behalf of oldsters with PWDs. On a bigger scale, E4PID hopes that Singapore will change into extra inclusive and affected person with individuals with disabilities — by way of initiatives corresponding to group care residences and broader job alternatives — so everybody can dwell a fuller life.
- Discover out extra about Mushroom Buddies here.
- Learn extra tales we’ve written on Singaporean companies here.
Featured Picture Credit score: Mushroom Buddies
