A mushroom farm in Kenya and fungi-based panels give hope for sustainable building

(19 Oct 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya - 25 July 2025
1. Mid of a concrete flat under construction
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickson Otieno, Chief Executive Officer at Niko Green:
++PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 3-5++
"Some of the materials that we have been using in the building industry have harmful chemicals we call PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances), about seven chemicals that are harmful. They are used for improving the performance of the materials and those chemicals have a health impact. Now using bio-based materials like mycelium helps you to have a built indoor environment that is quite safe because it's much closer to nature and you don't have this exposure to harmful chemicals."
3. Wide of a residential skyline filled with tall flats
4. Close up of a concrete flat under construction and workers on site
5. Various of workers adding of mushroom spawns onto bagasse to create mycelium
6. Mid of mycelium-coated insulation panels being carried out of a truck
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mtamu Kililo, founder and Chief Executive of MycoTile:
++PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 8-11++
"The building industry contributes close to 40% of carbon emissions through the building life. By introducing a material that is actually tackling waste that would have gone to landfills and released a lot of carbon, we capture that carbon in the building. By insulating buildings, it means that they are using less energy in terms of heating and cooling the space. In Kenya alone, the housing industry is suffering a 80% deficit per year. We really think that introducing affordable materials is part of the solution to the grand scheme of providing affordable housing to the community in general."
8. Various of a construction worker trimming an insulation panel using a saw
9. Various of installing insulation panels to a house
10. Close up of pattern created on insulation panel by mycelium-coat
11. Mid of a construction worker installing insulation panels
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
A large mushroom farm near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of a kind: It grows fungi on an industrial scale — not as food for restaurants but as a building material that some Kenyans say could make more people homeowners.

The farm produces mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms that a local company then uses to make building materials it says are more sustainable than regular brick and mortar.

The company, MycoTile, combines the roots with natural fibers and agents to make panels that can be used for everything from roof and wall insulation to interior decor, at a fraction of the cost of building with standard clay bricks. It currently produces about 3,000 square meters (yards) of such materials every month.

Nickson Otieno, Chief Executive Officer at Niko Green, a sustainability ‘think-do-tank’, says using bio-based materials like mycelium is “quite safe because it's much closer to nature and you don't have this exposure to harmful chemicals”.

MycoTile’s work could be a boon for Nairobi, where local leaders cite a housing crisis that has left many homeless or living in informal settlements and dwelling enclaves, prone to fires and sanitary issues. Official figures say there is a housing deficit of at least 2 million units in this metropolis of over 5 million people.

Most Kenyans are renters and those who are homeowners build from the ground up over many years instead of hiring contractors. It is common to find people living in badly finished or incomplete homes to avoid paying rent elsewhere.
AP video by Desmond Tiro
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