Mushroom byproduct helps create cutting-edge bricks with remarkable advantage: 'This project is a first of its kind'

A home-building project in Namibia leverages mushrooms and invasive plants to provide what's being touted as a cleaner brick that could help to alleviate the country's housing crisis. 

It's the result of a partnership between South Africa's Standard Bank Group and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Bits and Atoms, among other organizations, according to an MIT post. 

The collaborators formed and supported MycoHAB with the goal of tackling environmental and humanitarian issues, partly with fungus, according to the organization and Interesting Engineering reporting. 

The bricks are made by grinding up an invasive bush that's plaguing the country. Those remnants are turned into a substrate on which oyster mushrooms are grown and sold as a food source. The byproduct is compressed into a building material called mycoblocks. Each block gives a useful end to about 22 pounds of the environmentally harmful encroacher bush, all per a report from the Guardian. 

"This project is a first of its kind and is still very much in the experimental phase but shows a lot of promise," Magreth Mengo, the head of brand and marketing at Namibia's Standard Bank, said in the Guardian story.

It's not the first effort to leverage fungus for good. For example, a project in the United Kingdom is working on a concrete alternative called mycocrete. 

The Namibia work is timely, as it could address a dire housing situation, in addition to clearing the invasive plant. The Guardian reports that the country needs at least a half-million new homes to stymie a housing shortage. About 1 in 5 of the country's 2.7 million people live in "makeshift" dwellings, per the story. 

MycoHAB made public a "livable" single-bedroom home early this year. It's a "historic milestone for environmentalism, architecture, and bio-fabrication," according to the MIT press release. 

Despite the ingredient list, the home doesn't reveal its origin, at least under the nose test. 

"Sometimes, there is a small touch of wood, but otherwise it's completely odorless," Kristine Haukongo, a senior cultivator at MycoHAB said, in the Interesting Engineering news report. 

A block looks like a square piece of concrete in a black-and-white photo on MycoHAB's website. The material is billed as being "green … structurally compelling and often superior and can be used as raw material at the end of life." 

The Guardian adds that the slabs are heavier than common bricks but can be assembled quickly. The result is a lower construction expense. 

The environmental benefit will extend beyond Namibia — where the encroacher bush is typically burned — if it proves to be a scalable alternative to concrete. 

It's widely reported that concrete production accounts for up to 8% of the world's carbon dioxide pollution. The planet-warming gases are impacting even our seas, as NASA cites rising ocean levels and increased risk for severe weather as possible outcomes. 

If the homes start being produced en masse in Namibia, they could become reliable dwellings for a population in desperate need of them. 

"We wanted a new, better way to curtail the housing crisis and a sustainable way to curb the negative effects of the encroacher bush on our environment," Mengo told the Guardian. 

If you are looking for an easy way to make a difference at home, but don't have a lab to grow brick-building mushrooms, consider simply collecting rainwater. By using a rain barrel, you can save cash on your utility bill by watering your garden and plants with free raindrops. The hack also reduces waste and conserves precious H2O.

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.