Fungi For The People

What Fungi For The People does

Fungi For The People is a private, founder-led mycology education organization founded in 2010 by Ja Schindler in Lowell, Oregon, with operational facilities on a 17-acre farm in Westfir, Oregon, and additional program locations in Fall Creek, Oregon, Floyd, Virginia, and Orcas Island, Washington. Its core product is a portfolio of in-person, hands-on courses and workshops covering mushroom cultivation, mycoremediation, mycorrhizal applications, and species identification, anchored by the flagship 4-day Mushroom Cultivation Design Course (running since 2012) and the MycoRemediation Design Course (since 2014). Class sizes are intentionally small (15-18 participants), multilingual support is offered (French and Spanish), and the curriculum is supported by a maintained culture library of 400+ mushroom species and original biological research, including a selectively bred Hypsizygus ulmarius strain capable of digesting petroleum products and mycelium-based stormwater filtration work with Oregon municipalities.

The business model is event-driven direct-to-consumer education. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time workshop tuition ranging from $70 for short single-day sessions to $1,200 for the sliding-scale 4-day intensive, with work-trade positions available for accessibility. Secondary revenue comes from the sale of cultivation supplies, mushroom spawn, and medicinal mushroom tinctures through the Mushroom Cultivation Design Center. Customer acquisition runs through a WordPress content hub, a 507+ subscriber email newsletter, an organic social presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube), festival participation, and word-of-mouth from the 6,000+ alumni community. Customer segments are weighted toward individual hobbyists — homesteaders, DIY gardeners, regenerative farmers, restoration ecologists, and aspiring mushroom-farm entrepreneurs — with participants traveling globally (U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America) to attend. The organization maintains one identifiable external affiliation (a 2015 listing in the Starve Ups cohort), no parent company, no recorded M&A, and no external equity capital structure beyond that single event.

Name

Fungi For The People

Legal name

Fungi For The People

Website

https://fungiforthepeople.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fungi For The People is a founder-led mycology education organization founded in 2010, offering hands-on courses and workshops in mushroom cultivation, mycoremediation, and mycorrhizal applications to homesteaders, farmers, ecologists, and enthusiasts across Oregon, Washington, and Virginia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mycology Education and Training

NAICS

Mushroom Production (111411), Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Mushroom & Fungi Production (Indoor/Protected) (AFAGAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wild & Cultivated Mushroom Foraging and Production (AFAMAFAD), Mushroom Farming (Button, Oyster, Shiitake) (AFAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Mushroom cultivation courses
• Mycology education workshops
• Mycoremediation training
• Fungi research services
• Regenerative agriculture workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Lowell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Workshop Registration Fees: One-time fees for individual workshops and courses ranging from $70-$475 per participant
2. Intensive Course Tuition: Sliding scale tuition for 4-day intensive courses ($800-$1200 USD) with work trade options available
3. Cultivation Supplies and Mushroom Extracts: Production and sale of cultivation supplies and mushroom extracts through the Mushroom Cultivation Design Center

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fungi For The People is a mycology education organization that delivers hands-on, in-person workshops and intensive courses covering mushroom cultivation, mycoremediation, and mycorrhizal fungi applications. Operating from a 17-acre farm in Westfir, Oregon with a satellite location in Floyd, Virginia, the company teaches participants laboratory skills, spawn growing, growroom operation, mycoremediation techniques, and soil health applications. Complementing the workshops, the organization sells mushroom tinctures and cultivation supplies, and maintains a culture library of 400+ mushroom species for research purposes.

Product overview

Fungi For The People operates as an educational organization offering a portfolio of in-person courses, workshops, and experiential programs focused on mycology. The core offerings include the Mushroom Cultivation Design Course (4-day intensive offered since 2012 in Virginia and Oregon) and the MycoRemediation Design Course (environmental remediation training). Additional offerings include Arbuscular Mycorrhiza workshops, Cordyceps cultivation workshops, Orcas Island Mushroom Camp, and Mushroom Bike Adventure Camp. The organization also sells medicinal mushroom tinctures and provides free educational resources through its Mushroom Information Portal. Courses are taught by founder Ja Schindler and partner instructors, with course sizes kept small (15-18 participants) for hands-on learning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mushroom Cultivation Design Course A flagship 4-day intensive hands-on course in mushroom growing covering laboratory skills, spawn growing, growroom operation, outdoor mushroom gardening, mycorrhizae propagation, and myco materials design. Locations include Floyd, Virginia and Eugene, Oregon. Taught since 2012.
• MycoRemediation Design Course A 4-day hands-on course with 2 online sessions focused on using mushrooms and fungi to address toxic soils, filter water, enhance ecosystems, and empower communities. Covers mycoremediation techniques, water filtration units, and ecological restoration.
• Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Ecology and Cultivation Workshop A 3-day hands-on field and laboratory workshop covering techniques for surveying, counting, and cultivating endomycorrhiza. Includes soil sampling, spore separation, root staining, and microscopic identification techniques. Held in Westfir, Oregon.
• Cordyceps Mushroom Cultivation Workshop A cultivation workshop covering techniques for growing Cordyceps militaris mushrooms, including Cordyceps lifecycle, media preparations, culture techniques, environmental conditions, and harvesting practices.
• Orcas Island Mushroom Camp A 4-day mushroom immersion experience on Orcas Island, Washington, featuring mushroom identification, ecology, medicine, cooking, dyes, and cultivation tracks. Includes gourmet meals, camping, and grow-at-home kits.
• Mushroom Bike Adventure Camp A 2-day bike tour experience on the New River Trail in Virginia combining mushroom identification skills with cycling, camping, and wild mushroom foraging.
• Mushroom ID Camp A mushroom identification camp offered in collaboration with Charlie Aller of MushLuv, part of the Appalachia course series in Virginia.
• Mushroom Tinctures Medicinal mushroom tinctures available for purchase, along with medicinal mushroom recipes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 6,000 individuals trained in hands-on mycology courses since 2010
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gnomestead HollowcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 August 2026Co-instructor partnership with Matthew Reiss of Gnomestead Hollow for Mushroom Cultivation Design Course in Floyd, Virginia. Gnomestead Hollow is a mushroom farm and vegetable ferment business in the New River Valley.
• Floyd Yoga JamminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 31 August 2026Event partnership for Mushroom Cultivation Design Course Virginia location in conjunction with Floyd Yoga Jam and Gnomestead Hollow in Floyd, VA.
• BrambleBerry BikeWorksminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2026Partner for Mushroom Foraging Bike Tour providing retro mountain bikes for rental ($50) and cycling guidance along the New River Trail in Virginia.
• MushLuv (Charlie Aller)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2026Partner for Mushroom ID Camp in Appalachia, providing mushroom identification expertise and instruction.
• Orcasong FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2017Venue partner for Orcas Island Mushroom Camp in 2017. Provided central location for mushroom foray hikes and classes, cookouts, and camping facilities on Orcas Island, Washington.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• North Spore: Mushroom cultivation supplies retailer and educator based in Maine, offering grow kits, spawn, and educational resources. Comparable as a hybrid cultivation-supplies + education brand serving homesteaders and small-scale growers.
• Mushroom Mountain: Mycology farm and education center run by Tradd Cotter in South Carolina, offering workshops, farm tours, and cultivation consulting. Strong peer because it pairs a working mushroom farm with hands-on training and farm-venue education in the same niche.
• Fungi Academy: Online-first mushroom cultivation and mycology education company offering courses, certifications, and a global community. Most directly comparable peer because it competes for the same DIY/homesteader learner with structured curricula and remote-friendly delivery.
• MycoSymbiotics: William Padilla-Brown's mycology education and Cordyceps cultivation venture, offering workshops, consults, and mushroom products. Comparable because it is a founder-led educator that has actually co-taught courses with Fungi For The People (Cordyceps workshop).
• GroCycle: Online mushroom education and low-cost grow kit business with global distribution. Comparable in target customer (DIY growers and homesteaders), curriculum-led content model, and product-plus-education hybrid revenue approach.

Broad incumbents

• Fungi Perfecti (Host Defense): Long-established mycology company founded by Paul Stamets, selling mushroom supplements and conducting/communicating cultivation and mycoremediation research. Broader scale incumbent with overlapping educational, research, and mushroom-product missions.
• Ecovative Design: Industrial mycelium materials company commercializing mycelium packaging, building materials, and mycelium-grown products. Not a direct competitor but adjacent—validates that the company's mycology R&D thesis has a much larger commercial ceiling.
• Smallhold: Tech-enabled commercial mushroom farm operator with distributed growing farms supplying restaurants and retailers. Adjacent comparison showing the commercial-production scale of mushroom cultivation, a possible downstream 'business start-up' outcome for FFTP's trained alumni.

Regional players

• Midwest Mycology / Midwest Permaculture: Regional mycology education and permaculture event organization serving the U.S. Midwest. Comparable as a regional, founder-led mycology workshop provider competing for the same 'field-class' segment of learners.

Emerging players

• Radical Mycology: A grassroots mycology education movement and book-driven community focused on mycoremediation and DIY cultivation. Comparable as a complementary, philosophically aligned education channel rather than direct course competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffungiforthepeople.org
• Xx.com/Fungi4ThePeople
• TikToktiktok.com/@fungi for the people

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fungi For The People