Kairo Mushrooms is seeking donations to a GoFundMe campaign aimed at building a family compound and utilizing that compound for oyster mushroom cultivation in The Gambia.
(1888PressRelease) September 02, 2025 - Kairo Mushrooms is a Gambian social enterprise turning farm byproducts—peanut shells, rice husks, and sawdust—into high-protein oyster mushrooms. Our program addresses rural joblessness, malnutrition, and waste accumulation through one integrated solution. Agricultural waste is transformed into a productive growing medium, producing fresh mushrooms that reach local markets and restaurants as a healthy, affordable source of protein. At the same time, the project equips young people with practical skills in mushroom cultivation and small-scale agribusiness, building pathways to income and self-reliance. In its first year, Kairo Mushrooms will demonstrate that a circular, low-cost farming model can generate livelihoods, improve local diets, and reduce environmental pressure, setting the stage for replication across other Gambian communities.
Our Mission
From February to May, 2026, I will be traveling to The Gambia for three months to work alongside my brother Bubacarr, his family, friends, and other members of their local community. Together, we will work on two urgent and interconnected projects:
A Family Compound:
We will Build a modest compound so Bubacarr can live with dignity, free from exploitation. Bubacarr has faced years of insecurity at the hands of landlords who raise rents or evict without notice. We are attempting to break the cycle by building a compound he can call his own. The land has already been secured thanks to the generosity of the local alkalo, who is like a traditional mayor/chief. All that's left is the building materials and labor, some of which has already been secured.
In time, Bubacarr's compound can be built up to include new structures and provide housing for other community members in need of shelter, or even a future family of his own.
A Mushroom Farm:
We will attempt to launch a pilot project turning agricultural waste into oyster mushrooms, producing protein-rich food, youth employment, and a model for sustainable development through waste valorization.
There are massive agricultural waste dumps, particularly around peanut processing facilities, that represent incredible opportunity. The waste, in the form of peanut shells, can be used as mushroom substrate with minimal processing. This venture is in alignment with the circumstances faced by The Gambia today: nutrition insecurity, low capital, and peri-urban agricultural pollution.
While the compound construction addresses income loss through rent, the second component is aimed at increasing income. This represents a double-pronged approach to improving Bubacarr's quality of life and the local community at the same time.
In this way, this campaign can be seen as being about more than bricks and mushrooms. It’s about security, empowerment, and transformation.
Why This Matters
Housing stability is essential: a home is freedom from fear.
Waste valorization turns peanut shells and farm byproducts into food and income.
Mushroom cultivation has low demands for both capital and land, requiring minimal investment and little space.
Local empowerment means the project is led by Gambians, for Gambians.
By supporting, you’re not giving charity: you’re investing in the development of The Gambia and a new model for resilient and sustainable agriculture.
Our Goal
We aim to raise $12,000 to cover the following:
$7,000 → bricks, roofing sheets, cement, rebar, and labor for the compound.
$5,000 → equipment, inputs, and training for the pilot cultivation cycles.
Every $50 builds part of a wall.
Every $100 funds a full mushroom harvest.
Every $250 sets the foundation for lasting change.
How You Can Help
$25 → A digital thank-you postcard from the compound site
$50 → Your name written on a brick of the family compound
$100 → Updates + photos from the first mushroom harvest with your name attached
$250+ → Recognition in a short documentary video we’ll produce at the end of the trip
Transparency & Updates
We’ll share weekly photos and videos at gofund.me/b9b3932d as the compound rises and the mushrooms grow. You’ll see your support transformed into walls, roofs, and food.
Join Us
With your help, Bubacarr’s family will gain the security of a home. With your help, a Gambian community will taste the promise of sustainable agriculture.
Donate now at gofund.me/b9b3932d and be part of building dignity and growing sustainability in The Gambia.
Kairo Mushrooms is seeking donations to a GoFundMe campaign aimed at building a family compound and utilizing that compound for oyster mushroom cultivation in The Gambia. 
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