Two young college grads turned the waste of baristas into a booming, sustainable business.
I first spotted the Back to the Roots Mushroom Garden while exhibiting at the Bay Area Maker Faire last May. And then again just a few weeks ago at a local Whole Foods in Silver Spring, MD. In less than three years, founders Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora have created a sustainable business that is providing grow at home mushroom kits in stores from coast to coast.
The Mushroom Garden product started as an experiment in a fraternity kitchen, but with a little seed money from the UC Berkeley Chancellor, the company is now on it's way to diverting and reusing 1 million pounds of coffee grounds in 2012. Partnering with Peet's Coffee and Tea for the waste coffee grounds, Back to the Roots is helping families grow over 250,000 pounds of fresh food at home.
Keeping in-line with their sustainability goals, Back to the Roots even uses recycled wood pallets for their in-store displays. If you are interested in learning more about Back to the Roots or purchasing one of their Mushroom Gardens click here.
Image Credits: Karen MacKay (taken at the 2011 Bay Area Maker Faire)
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I’ve grown mushrooms on several occasions from more traditional kits.
I tried one of these coffee ground kits, following the directions carefully, and it molded within a couple days, not even coming close to producing mushrooms. This is obviously not the best growing medium or packaging.
There’s nothing so inherently valuable about coffee grounds, or their disposal that warrants a sub-standard (yet expensive) product. Coffee grounds should be disposed of in compost heaps, or in the garbage. Your time is valuable, too, and wasting it has ecological consequences.