Mushroom Buddies supplies employment for folks with mental disabilities
Have you ever ever tried recent, regionally grown mushrooms? For those who frequent farmers’ markets, you may 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 below 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 find out how 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 usually 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 drawback was clear: after graduating from particular colleges at 18, many people with mental disabilities wrestle to search out work. Even those that safe positions in open employment — workplaces the place they work together with the remainder of the inhabitants — usually face difficulties sustaining their jobs with out ample help.
“Like anybody else, individuals with disabilities should have choices and alternatives to decide on what sort of work they need to do,” William stated. “Significant employment enhances their high quality of life.”
In the present day, 5 of E4PID’s 10 board members are actively concerned in operating Mushroom Buddies, together with William. As a co-operative, E4PID actively channels income again to its members and staff, which implies salaries are dictated by its earnings.
E4PID can also 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 challenge in 2012 as a partnership with Everbloom Mushroom Farm, E4PID supplied 12 individuals with particular wants the chance to work on the farm.
In keeping with William, round 30% of individuals with mental disabilities find yourself in day care centres with out employment, a 3rd should not actively engaged in work, and solely a small minority maintain open employment, akin to at shops like Uniqlo, performing duties akin to accumulating and sorting garments at becoming rooms.
“With out correct help, people with mental disabilities usually 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 goal
In the present day, Mushroom Buddies operates out of three container heaps situated at Sprout Hub, an city farm and neighborhood house situated within the former Henderson Secondary College constructing. Two containers function the farm, and one other is used for packing harvested mushrooms.
The workforce includes eight staff with mental disabilities, supported by round 40 volunteers and a part-time supervisor. The staff come from voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) akin to The Down Syndrome Affiliation of Singapore, MINDS, and St. Andrew’s Autism Centre.
Every morning, a rotating workforce of 4 to 5 volunteers works alongside the employees, fostering teamwork whereas permitting the staff to take care of 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 standard work environments usually don’t accommodate their skills. At Mushroom Buddies, the main focus is on a secure, affected person, and versatile office, with manageable duties that empower employees 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 neighborhood 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 variability. William acknowledged the premium price ticket, however emphasised that a lot of the worth comes from the onerous work of individuals with mental disabilities, who take possession and satisfaction of their obligations.
“We need to give our staff 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 — in contrast to imported mushrooms which might be usually 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 few week earlier than harvesting. Every log yields mushrooms for 3 to 5 harvest cycles earlier than being thought of spent.
Some clients at farmer markets grew to become Mushroom Buddies’ companions, the place cooks resolve 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 every day, and over 300 kilograms in good months.
Regardless of their quick one-week shelf life, nothing goes to waste. Unsold mushrooms are was merchandise like mushroom chips and pâté, out there by way of their web site or at farmers’ market pop-ups. Corporations sometimes 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 bought to gardeners and landscaping firms, which use it in large-scale initiatives like Gardens by the Bay. The proceeds are reinvested into paying staff and sustaining the enterprise.
Workers sometimes work two to 3 hours a day, paid hourly, a number of weekdays every week, relying on their preferences and availability. They take cost of duties akin to harvesting, trimming, sorting, packaging, and cleansing. William remembers accommodating employees with explicit wants — for instance, a claustrophobic worker was given different duties exterior of the containers and have become a long-term workforce member.
William highlighted: “This pseudo-sheltered mannequin offers them flexibility. They’ll work with pals whereas socialising with folks with out disabilities in a supportive atmosphere. We engineer our work to suit the employees we now have.”
“We give attention to their skills 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 supply 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 house at its new Yishun facility to ascertain their subsequent farm and help growth plans in 2026. In addition they plan to introduce extra mushroom varieties on the new website with three climate-controlled containers.
To teach the bigger society, Mushroom Buddies hosts farm excursions, workshops, college and office shows, and company social duty (CSR) initiatives. These actions present alternatives for the neighborhood 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 neighborhood about differently-abled individuals and inclusion,” William stated.
“Individuals with or with out disabilities typically have no idea tips on how to behave round each other as a result of a scarcity of interplay between the 2 teams. We need to enhance that interplay with our work,” William highlighted. “We’re proud that our staff, who initially got here in reserved, later grew to become extra open and even attempt to have interaction with strangers after working with us.”
Mushroom Buddies has been recognised for its efforts up to now 4 years. Some achievements embody successful three consecutive years of SFA-approved organically grown mushrooms and clinching Honeycombers Sustainability Awards — Silver winner for Finest 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 ultimately develop employment to incorporate individuals with different kinds of disabilities.
E4PID can also 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 turn out to be extra inclusive and affected person with individuals with disabilities — by way of initiatives akin to neighborhood care flats and broader job alternatives — so everybody can reside 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
