Today on Mushroom Hour we the privilege to get to know mushroom cultivation artist Kiat. Kiat is the founder of Bewilder, a Mycological Design Studio based in Singapore. As the one-man R&D team behind this project, Kiat knows his science! For him, growing mushrooms is an intense and carefully tuned process that also blends in a fair bit of artistry and intuition. Before founding Bewilder, Kiat worked on a local farm cultivating mushrooms out of waste substrates. These years of experience and experimentation formed him into the self-taught mushroom cultivator he is today. As he explores ever more mysteries of growing fungi, he continues to bow his head humbly to the ways of nature.   

TOPICS COVERED:

• Childhood Love of Nature Becomes a Mushroom Addiction   
• Mycophobia and “Success Culture” in Singapore   
• Showing What's Possible, Asking Questions    
• Mushrooms as a Tool for Doing Good   
• Founding Bewilder Design Studio   
• Communities vs Competition in Myco-Entrepreneurship   
• Myco-Composite Materials   
• Government Control and Separation from Nature     
• Seeking Out Native Strains for Food & Mycomaterials   
• Mycelium Lampshades   
• Being Humble, Recognizing Our Place in Nature   
• Relinquishing Control, Reconnecting to Greater Consciousness   
• Importance of Making Mistakes   
• Bewilder Commercial Projects and Research Areas   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Bewilder SG Website: https://www.bewildersg.com/   
• Bewilder IG: https://www.instagram.com/bewildersg/   
• Terrestrial Fungi (Inspiration): https://www.instagram.com/bewildersg/   
• Ganoderma weberianum (fungus): https://www.mycobank.org/page/Name%20details%20page/name/Ganoderma%20weberianum   
• Filoboletus manipularis (fungus): https://singapore.biodiversity.online/species/F-Basidomycota-000035   
• Mycena chlorophos (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_chlorophos