Haagse Zwam
The starting point of HaagseZwam was ‘we can do better!’ Then automatically the question arises: ‘and how?’
Well, for us the answer was to start small. We believe in the necessity for society to function (more) as an ecosystem. In an ecosystem waste doesn’t exist. Ha! That gave us a starting point: using waste. So, we started using coffee grounds, to …… grow oyster mushrooms. We collect the coffee grounds in The Hague and then also grow and sell the mushrooms locally. This way we are not only reducing waste, we are also producing food in a sustainable way. And the cool thing is the oyster mushrooms are a healthy and much more sustainable alternative to meat.
We only just started and have the ambition to grow. We want HaagseZwam to grow with the help of people who have less access to work. The next step is to build upon the ecosystem idea. How can we make more use of our own resources? An example is that the used substrate for the mushrooms can be used as compost with high nutritional value for the plants. And, there are more opportunities. We can grow another food source on the used substrate and on the small amount of CO2 the mushrooms produce when they’re growing. This should only be the beginning. Our ultimate goal is to, together with many others, make The Hague function as a healthy, sustainable and social ecosystem.
And first; collect more The Hague coffee grounds, grow more The Hague mushrooms, get The Hague people jobs and eat healthy food!
Idea owner: Annelies Goedbloed
