Ep. 140: Dropping Spores in Singapore & Bewildering Mycelium Creations (feat. Ng Sze Kiat)

The Mushroom Hour Podcast

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