Grant Application: Mycelium Club
Project Name
Mycelium Club
Description
The Mycelium Club is a distinctive assembly of mycelium enthusiasts committed to leveraging alternative materials, advancing food innovation, nurturing spiritual growth, catalyzing healing, and exploring decentralized technologies. We emphasize in-person meetups, conscious nature walks, and encourage collaborative mycelium research to understand the profound implications of this organism on organizational design.
Vision
Our vision is to use nature as a catalyst to empower individuals, broadening their horizons through the magic of mycelium. We are passionate about weaving together local communities and disseminating this symbiotic knowledge on a global scale.
Problem
Information on mycelium’s myriad potentials remains scattered and siloed. As we pivot to reconsider our production means and redefine food sources, there’s a growing need for a communal platform. Given the shifts in DAO landscapes and looming metacrises, grassroots endeavors that emphasize sustainability and innovative learning are pivotal.
Solution/Product
- Newsletter: A bi-weekly digest at myceliumclub.substack.com, illuminating readers on mycelium-centric themes, personal growth, risk management, and nature-inspired organizational design.
- Telegram Community: A dynamic platform for mycelium aficionados across diverse domains: scientists, growers, designers, technologists, and artists.
- Meetup/Physical Events: Regular nature walks emphasizing real-time mycelium observation, fostering a deeper connection with nature.
- Collaborative Mycelium Lab: Situated in Barcelona, this is a communal hub promoting peer-to-peer learning, pooling resources, and spearheading mycelium-centered experiments.
- Public Engagement: Workshops and interactive talks focusing on the biomimicry potential of mycelium for innovative organizational design. Link to the talk: Watch Here (starts at 2h.56min).
- Mushroom Cultivation Experiments
Web3 Integration
Our club has pioneered in understanding mycelium as an organizational design archetype, conducting an impressive 700+ growth iterations to decode its inherent decentralized and collaborative traits. These insights hold revolutionary promise for the future of decentralized organizations and governance systems in the Web3 era.
Inclusivity at Mycelium Club
Steered by an LGBTQ, female founder, Justina Cukini, our ethos is deeply rooted in inclusiveness. Over 60% of our members identify as female or non-binary. Our active collaborations with local female-centric organizations signify our unwavering commitment to diversifying the mycelium exploration space.
Validation / Traction / Progress
- Meetup Group: 115 active members
- Telegram Group: 45 active participants engaged in profound discourse.
- Events: 14 in-person meetups and 4 immersive nature walks.
- Subscribers: 30 dedicated readers of our newsletter.
- Content: 10 insightful articles published.
- Participation: Research presentation at Metafest, Croatia.
- Lab Assets: Our collaborative lab is provisioned with foundational resources for mushroom cultivation and experimentation.
Team
Justina Cukini - A seasoned mycologist and harm reduction advocate with over a decade’s experience with mycelium. Active in the Web3 ecosystem, she’s notably contributed as a DAO and organizational designer with Deep Work Studios and Praise.xyz.
Grant Amount Requested
7000k DAI
Budget Allocation
- Collaborative Lab Upgrade and Public Launch in Barcelona: 2k DAI
- Research on Mycelium-Inspired DAO Governance Systems: 3k DAI
- In-person Event Organizing: 2k DAI
Source of Awareness
Introduced to MGD’s Funding program by Anastasia Wayfinder during Metafest, the alignment of MGD’s objectives with the Mycelium Club’s inclusive and nature-centric vision inspired this grant proposal.