Darren Le Baron is a world-renowned educator in ethnomycology and psychedelic studies, based between the UK and the Caribbean. A grassroots community activist with a background in creative arts, organic horticulture, and permaculture, he is a programme curator of Breaking Convention and the creator of the Shroomshop, a mushroom cultivation initiative that engages local communities, schools, and businesses while reconnecting people to fungi as teachers, healers, and allies.

In this conversation, Darren Le Baron and Dr Simon Ruffell explore the cultural, spiritual, and communal significance of mushrooms, with a particular focus on African traditions and Indigenous practices. Darren traces the deep historical roots of psychedelic use across Africa, reframing psychedelics as ancestral technologies that have long supported healing, ceremony, and the transmission of knowledge across generations.

The conversation weaves together history, spirituality, and lived experience, highlighting the role of mushrooms in both personal transformation and collective wellbeing. Darren speaks to the importance of maintaining balance across physical, psychological, and spiritual planes, and how respectful, intentional engagement with psychedelics can help restore harmony within individuals and communities alike.

Together, Darren and Simon reflect on the contemporary psychedelic renaissance, examining both its promise and its challenges. Darren offers a grounded critique of extractive or commercialised approaches, while advocating for the ethical interaction of traditional cultural knowledge with contemporary scientific research. Central to this vision is education, community empowerment, and honoring the lineages from which these practices emerge.

This episode also explores psychedelics as agents of spiritual journeying, facilitating connection with ancestors, access to higher knowing, and deeper self-understanding. Through his work, Darren reminds us that mushrooms are not only medicines for individuals but catalysts for cultural reverence, resilience, and collective healing.

Links:
Darren’s website
Next Shroomshop learning opportunity (12 January 2026)
Instagram: @darren_le_baron
Darren Le Baron has gifted the Onaya community a 50% discount on his Psychedelics in Africa webinar series, with the code: ONAYA50 (Expires: 31 Jan 2026)

We are delighted to offer a 15% discount on Onaya’s next 6-month Psychedelic Mentorship Training, a live, taught, accredited course led by Dr Simon Ruffell and Dr WaiFung Tsang to Darren’s community.
You can find out more and sign up with the code: DARREN15