Help Us Build Sustainable Food Systems

Help us reach our goal of $25,000 to expand our Mycelium & Sweet Potato Food Systems project — a scalable, low-cost model for producing nutritious food in constrained environments.

This initiative focuses on building replicable food systems that can function in refugee settings, low-resource communities, and areas facing food insecurity.
 

Raising Funds to Build Decentralized Food Security

Nushoor Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit institution and social incubator based in Buffalo, NY. We focus on serving and empowering disenfranchised communities — locally and globally — with special emphasis on refugee populations.

This specific campaign supports our Mycelium & Sweet Potato Food Systems Project, which explores how communities can produce nutritious food using locally available, recycled, and regenerative materials.

Rather than relying on external supply chains, we are developing systems that communities can build and replicate themselves.

Our Strategy

This project combines three resilient food sources:

Mycelium Production

We cultivate mycelium using recycled cardboard as a growth substrate.

• Wild or locally sourced spawn is placed on sterilized (boiling water) soaked cardboard
• The mycelium efficiently colonizes the material
• Once colonized, it can be transferred into fruiting substrates such as straw or sawdust
• Produces edible mushrooms with minimal dependency on specialized inputs

This approach:

Uses widely available waste materials

Requires minimal infrastructure

Is easily teachable and replicable

Next Phase: Expanding into fruiting substrates for reliable edible mushroom production.
 

Sweet Potato Propagation

Sweet potatoes are propagated from single tubers using a split water bottle (wicking bed) system.

• Shoots are grown partially submerged in water (3–7 days) to develop roots
• Transplanted into soil using a self-watering system
• One tuber can generate multiple new plants
• Leaves are edible in addition to the tubers

These shoots can:

Survive indoors for 2–3 months with water access

Withstand winter conditions

Create continuous cycles of regeneration

This makes it ideal for constrained or indoor environments.
 

Jerusalem Artichoke Cultivation

Jerusalem artichokes are being introduced for their resilience.

• Thrive in difficult soil
• Grow year-round in various climates
• Require minimal maintenance
• Both leaves and tubers are edible

They provide a durable food source for communities facing unstable growing conditions.
Current Status

Mycelium colonization on recycled cardboard has shown strong and reliable growth
 Next step: Transfer into fruiting substrates

 Sweet potato shoots are developing in the split water bottle system
 Monitoring root and tuber development for second planting cycle

 Jerusalem artichokes have been planted and are being monitored for yield and resilience

How Your Donations Will Be Used

Funds will support:

• Laboratory and cultivation equipment
• Substrate materials and soil systems
• Controlled growing environments
• Student researcher stipends
• Documentation and publication of open-source designs
• Expansion into partner communities


What our engineers and researchers say:
"For anyone who has a heart, and is willing to help people...Nushoor is the place to grow and a place to learn"
-Hashem Ali Badr
Architect
Sewage management

"...instead of trying to find suppliers for their tools, they can build their own"
-Taha Faek
Dental Student
3D Printed medical solutions

"the old school way of helping humanity is not working. Lots of resources are being wasted"
-Anas Shafi
Agriculture Researcher
Food security

"People around the globe have been very dependent on this aid. I remember this when I was young as well back in Afghanistan, aid was coming in, giving people what they need but it was limiting the people in these regions who are hurt and broken. What they need is how to do stuff"
-Abdullah Masoud
Mechanical Engineer
Power Team

Previous project completed due to your support!
Veranda Designs Greenhouse