Female Mushroom Hunters of Zambia: Food, Medicine and Livelihoods

Zambia, a country in sub-tropical southeastern Africa, experiences a burst of fungal abundance during the rainy season when the ectomycorrhizal miombo forests fill with mushrooms. Zambia is a mycophilic culture, where mushrooms are loved and celebrated. The forests yield a variety of edible mushrooms such as chanterelles, Russulas, and Lactarius species, as well as the highly prized Termitomyces titanicus, the world’s largest edible mushroom. For many communities, mushrooms are a crucial seasonal food source. Mothers, grandmothers, and aunties teach children from an early age how to forage and identify mushrooms safely, using songs, stories, and hands-on experience to pass down this essential knowledge. For women, mushroom gathering also becomes a source of income. This talk is based on Mai Lovaas’ MSc Global Health thesis from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology titled Female Mushroom Hunters in Zambian Miombo Woodlands: Food, Medicine, Livelihoods, and Environmental Change.

Speaker: Mai Lovaas, researcher

Lecture begins at 7:30.  Attend in person or online (see weblink)