From Local Byproducts to Living Bounty
From the heart of Hawai‘i’s volcanic soil, we grow more than mushrooms — we grow connection. At Volcano Mushrooms, every harvest begins with local agricultural byproducts transformed into fertile ground for red reishi, lion’s mane, oyster and other mushrooms. What started as a humble experiment has become a mission: to honor the land, source locally, and cultivate in harmony with the island spirit.
Volcano Mushrooms began as a simple hobby — the final frontier in our journey of growing things after years of gardening. Mushroom cultivation fascinated us, with its need for sterile, lab-like conditions and the meticulous process of propagating mushroom cells on petri dishes. It felt both daunting and irresistible.
Inspired by the book, "Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World", we took the plunge and began cultivating mycelium — the intricate, underground web-like structures that produce the mushroom, the mycelium’s fruiting body. Through much trial and error, we learned to grow a variety of species and today specialize in red reishi, lion’s mane, and oyster mushrooms.
Being based in Hawai‘i, we wanted to grow in the true island spirit — sourcing everything locally rather than importing substrate from the mainland. Our first approach used local sawdust, but the island’s few mills made sawdust a scarce commodity. That’s when Julie had a brilliant idea: What about macadamia shells?
Living on the Big Island, surrounded by macadamia farms, it made perfect sense — even though no one we knew had ever tried cultivating mushrooms on macadamia byproducts. After acquiring a milling machine, we began experimenting with substrate recipes, eventually creating our signature blend of macadamia husk, coffee parchment, and a small amount of rice bran to boost yields.
It wasn’t easy. Our journey has been full of experiments, setbacks, and breakthroughs. But we’ve stayed the course because we believe in what we’re doing — creating 100% local products grown from local substrates. This is our way of honoring the earth and contributing to the kind of world we want to live in.
Ben & Julie