While rural areas in Namibia suffer from invasive bushes that destroy pastures, a project transforms the brush into edible mushrooms and biological blocks, creating housing and income for local communities affected by the housing deficit.

Written by Flavia Marinho

Published on 30/05/2026 at 15:43

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The MycoHab project transforms invasive shrubs into nutritious mushrooms and mycelium walls, generating food, affordable housing, and new economic opportunities for rural communities, combining sustainability and biological innovation

First the bush turns into mushrooms, then the rest becomes a wall. In Namibia, the uncontrolled spread of shrubs invades grazing areas and reduces agricultural productivity, harming rural communities. The MycoHab project transforms this vegetation into edible mushrooms and mycelium blocks, creating local housing and income solutions.

The mycelium acts as a natural biological glue, binding wood particles to form strong walls. At the same time, mushroom cultivation offers nutritious food and income generation, connecting social, environmental, and economic impacts in an innovative initiative.

The information was released by Bio-Hab, an organization specializing in sustainable housing, detailing how biological technology can be practically applied in low-income communities.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Why invasive shrubs became raw material

The excessive growth of shrubs prevents land use for grazing and agriculture, and harms the local ecosystem. Instead of discarding this vegetation, MycoHab transforms the wood into substrate for edible mushrooms, which then generate food and income.

First the bush turns into mushrooms, then the rest becomes a wall in Namibia

This approach avoids burning and intensive manual removal, making the process more safe and sustainable. Local communities participate in the harvesting and processing, creating immediate economic opportunities.

How the fungus transforms waste into blocks

The mycelium is the structure of the fungus that connects plant particles. As it colonizes the waste, it acts as a natural glue, forming solid and moldable blocks into walls for small constructions.

This method eliminates the need for cement or synthetic materials, resulting in biodegradable, lightweight, and thermally insulating blocks, ideal for social housing prototypes.

MycoHab Project transforms invasive shrubs into nutritious mushrooms and mycelium walls

What Has Been Built

Rural communities in Namibia have already experienced simple and functional houses made with mycelium blocks. The prototypes serve as a living laboratory, allowing adjustments in strength, durability, and thermal comfort.

The project combines biological technology and social housing, showing how environmental problems can be transformed into practical and accessible solutions.

Why It Is Still an Experimental Technology

Despite positive results, the use of mycelium in construction is still in the experimental phase. It is necessary to evaluate resistance to rain, longevity, and pests before large-scale application.

mycelium functions as a natural biological glue, binding wood particles to form strong walls — Mycelium functions as **natural biological glue**, binding wood particles to form strong walls

The goal is to make mycelium a viable and scalable alternative, offering low-cost housing with reduced environmental impact.

The information was released again by Bio-Hab, an organization specializing in sustainable housing, reinforcing the challenges and potential of mycelium as a construction material.

The MycoHab project shows how it is possible to transform invasive shrubs into food and houses, generating income and concrete improvements for local communities.

Share your opinion on this initiative and tell us if you believe mycelium can change the way we build sustainable housing.

While rural areas in Namibia suffer from invasive bushes that destroy pastures, a project transforms the brush into edible mushrooms and biological blocks, creating housing and income for local communities affected by the housing deficit.

The MycoHab project transforms invasive shrubs into nutritious mushrooms and mycelium walls, generating food, affordable housing, and new economic opportunities for rural communities, combining sustainability and biological innovation

Why invasive shrubs became raw material

How the fungus transforms waste into blocks

What Has Been Built

Why It Is Still an Experimental Technology

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While rural areas in Namibia suffer from invasive bushes that destroy pastures, a project transforms the brush into edible mushrooms and biological blocks, creating housing and income for local communities affected by the housing deficit.

The MycoHab project transforms invasive shrubs into nutritious mushrooms and mycelium walls, generating food, affordable housing, and new economic opportunities for rural communities, combining sustainability and biological innovation

Why invasive shrubs became raw material

How the fungus transforms waste into blocks

What Has Been Built

Why It Is Still an Experimental Technology

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

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