SOUTHERN AND EAST AFRICA
VIRTUAL LEARNING - INTERACTIVE SELF-PACED COURSES

Gauteng, North West, Free State, Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces and other Southern and East African Countries

Mushroom Cultivation Courses Virtual Learning

The following five courses (see table below) are available:

King mushroom
  1. Entrepreneurial
    Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation
  2. Semi-Commercial
    Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing
  3. Commercial
    Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing and Business Planning
    including the Mushroom Substrate Design Calculator to the value of R 1932 / € 155 EURO
  4. Industrial
    Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing and Business Planning + Operational Management System Design
    including the Mushroom Cultivation Business and Marketing Secrecies e-Book to the value of R 1863 / € 150 EURO as well as the Mushroom Substrate Design Calculator and Mushroom Business Design Guide to the value of R 3864 / € 310 EURO
  5. Refresher
    Skills Renewal + Mushroom Cultivation Case Studies + Latest Developments
    Highly customised to your requirements

Comparison of gourmet mushroom cultivation course levels via Virtual Learning

 

Gourmet Mushroom Cultivation Courses
via Virtual Learning

Self-paced = e-Learning modules / software / books + Questions via e-mail and Virtual (Zoom) sessions

Price structure per person
SADC member rate in ZAR / Non-SADC rate in EURO

Entrepreneurial
 

3 modules +
3 x 30 min
Zoom sessions

@ R 5 999 /
€ 480

Semi-Commercial
 

5 modules +
3 x 30 min
Zoom sessions

@ R 6 999 /
€ 560

Commercial
 

10 modules +
6 x 30 min
Zoom sessions +
Calculator
@ R 11 999 /
€ 960

Industrial
 

10 modules +
9 x 30 min
Zoom sessions +
Calculator +
Design Guide + Secrecies Book

@ R16 999 /
€ 1 360

 

Refresher
 

3 modules +
3 x 30 min
Zoom sessions

@ R 5 999 /
€ 480

Focus areas

Spawn

Substrates

Cropping

Marketing

 

 

Business Plans

 

 

 

Operations

 

 

 

 

Case Studies

 

 

Problem Solving

 

 

Business Rescue

 

 

 

 

 

Books and Software

Design Calculator 1

 

 

 

Design Guide 2

 

 

 

 

Secrecies Book 3

 

 

 

 

Design System 4

 

 

 

 

 

1 Mushroom Substrate Design Calculator
2 Mushroom Business Design Guide e-book
3 Mushroom Cultivation, Business and Marketing Secrecies e-book
4 Business Plan and Operational Management Design System

PLATFORM

  • Modules via e-mail
  • Attached PDF, XLSX and JPG documents
  • Q&A via e-mail and requested virtual (Zoom) sessions
  • Requested Zoom sessions according to your own schedule and availability
  • Zoom sessions should preferably be on week days between 10h00-12h00 or 19h00-21h00
  • Responsibility for set-up of individual 30 minute Zoom sessions lies with the Academy
  • The Academy is based in the SAST/CAT (Cape Town) = GMT/UTC+2 time zone 

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Ability to send and receive e-mail
  • Preferably an e-mail address where size limitation is not a barrier (minimum 25 Mb) e.g. gmail.com or yahoo.com
  • Access to laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone with applicable camera, microphone and speakers
  • Browser or downloaded free version of the Zoom app
  • Reliable internet connection and
  • Set of ear / headphones to minimise disturbance in co-sharing environments and to avoid voice echoing in the meeting

COURSE DURATION SPECIFICS

  • Own pace and schedule
  • No time limitations

HOW TO CHOOSE THE CORRECT CURRENCY

Each course has two different rates, the

  1. Discounted SADC member rate as listed in ZAR (South African Rand) and the
  2. International non-SADC rate as stated in EURO

Discounted SADC member rate as listed in ZAR
Participants from SADC countries www.sadc.int/member-states qualify for the discounted rate as listed in ZAR (South African Rand), but ONLY when paid in ZAR, either directly via

  • Manual EFT
  • Instant EFT by Payfast, or the
  • Payfast payment gateway

International non-SADC rate as stated in EURO
Participants from non-SADC countries should use the secure PayPal gateway to pay the rate as stated in EURO, either directly via

  • PayPal, or the
  • PayPal debit / credit card options (PayPal account is not a prerequisite to these card payments)

What are the advantages of Virtual Learning?

  • Suited for those with social and aurial personalities
  • Being one of the components of blended learning (a mixed experience that includes essensial information via e-Learning), virtual learning participants will benefit from both learning styles
  • Virtual Q&A sessions encourage real-time interaction
  • Ability to structure own Q&A sessions
  • Adaptability to complete your course as quickly or slowly as circumstance dictates
  • All information in clear and easy to understand modules via e-mail (attached PDF, XLSX and JPG documents), followed by Q&A via e-mail and virtual (Zoom) sessions
  • One learner per instructor, thus undivided attention
  • Unlimited e-mail and / or cell phone access to instructor whilst doing the course

What are the disadvantages of Virtual Learning?

  • More expensive when compared to the e-Learning method of training

Why registering for a course at the Academy?

  • You are dealing with experienced mushroom specialists, in other words, professionals who completed post graduate degrees at universities, worked at research institutes and served the private industries over years 
  • Mushroom cultivation is a field of specialisation. We also recommend you complete the training before spending on infrastructure you will probably not need 
  • Value for money. A surprisingly high number of spawn, cultivating and so-called mushroom guru workshops and courses are run by amateurs. Training should preferably be left to the professionals. Unless you want to be a mushroom hobbyist

Please select the most suitable level of training:

  • No registration deadline, thus possible to register any time of the year 
  • Commencement date: Any time of the year, all year round
  • Duration and completion: No limitations, depending on your circumstances
  • Payment deadline: Directly after submitting the registration form. Please follow the payment instructions

Click + to expand

ENTREPRENEURIAL:
Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation

R 5999 | € 480 Virtual Learning

Mushroom cultivation for supply to organic and farmers markets. Focus will be on the range of oyster mushroom species, some of which are cultivated at room temperature. Thus no need to have expensive structures or complicated climate control systems.

SEMI-COMMERCIAL:
Substrate Design + Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing

R 6999 | € 560 Virtual Learning

Mushroom cultivation for supply to specialty food service distributors. Focus will include shiitake bag cultivation, which is a bit more challenging and complicated as you would probably need facilities to cool down. Unless you want to follow the traditional shiitake log cultivation method. Shiitake is sought after, in both fresh and dried form.

The entire range of oyster mushroom species will also be discussed, some of which are cultivated at room temperature. Unless cultivating the king oyster or other winter oyster strains, there is no need to have expensive structures or complicated climate control systems.

COMMERCIAL:
Substrate Design and Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing and Business Planning

R 11999 | € 960 Virtual Learning

Mushroom cultivation for supply to broad spectrum food service distributors. Focus will be on the commercial technology to cultivate a range of gourmet / exotic / specialty / medicinal mushroom species with emphasis on substrate design, specialised cultivation and climate control requirements as well as business plan information. Also included is the sought-after Mushroom Substrate Design Calculator to the value of R 1932 / € 155 EURO. Although a commercial setup might be costly, the outcome will be extremely profitable.

Priority will be given to shiitake, enoki, nameko, pioppino, lion’s mane and shimeji cultivation, which is a bit more challenging and complicated as you probably would need facilities to cool down. Shiitake is sought after in both fresh and dried form, whereas the others are mainly cultivated for the fresh market.

The entire range of oyster mushroom species will also be discussed, some of which are cultivated at room temperature. Unless cultivating the king oyster or other winter oyster strains, there is no need to have expensive structures or complicated climate control systems.

INDUSTRIAL:
Substrate Design and Mushroom Cultivation + Marketing and Business Planning and Operational Management System Design

R 16999 | € 1360 Virtual Learning

Mushroom cultivation for supply to wholesale food service distributors. Focus will be on the industrial technology to cultivate the entire range of 60-100 gourmet / exotic / specialty / medicinal mushroom species with emphasis on substrate design, specialised cultivation and climate control requirements, business and marketing plan information as well as operational management. Also included is the Mushroom Cultivation Business and Marketing Secrecies e-book as well as the sought-after Mushroom Substrate Design Calculator and Mushroom Business Design Guide to the combined value of R 5727 / € 460 EURO. Where needed, Business Plan and Operational Management Design System software is available as an additional option.

Priority will be given to shiitake, enoki, nameko, pioppino, lion’s mane and shimeji cultivation, which is a bit more challenging and complicated as you probably would need facilities to cool down. Shiitake is sought after in both fresh and dried form, whereas the others are mainly cultivated for the fresh market.

The entire range of oyster mushroom species will also be discussed, some of which are cultivated at room temperature. Unless cultivating the king oyster or other winter oyster strains, there is no need to have expensive structures or complicated climate control systems.

REFRESHER:
Skills Renewal + Mushroom Cultivation Case Studies + Latest Developments

R 5999 | € 480 Virtual Learning

Mushroom cultivation in need for a kickstart or upscaling. You have completed one of our mushroom cultivation courses and are either cultivating on the sideline or life got in the way and you never really got to the cultivation stage. You now find it challenging to remember some of the detail and / or are uncertain how to approach some of the cultivation-related processes. The refresher course will put you on track. In addition, critical evaluation of video-based cultivation case studies from different parts of the globe will take you on an international roadshow and will enable you to distinquish the rights from the wrongs. Futhermore, you will be exposed to the latest cultivation-related developments. The refresher course will be customised according to your own requirements.

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