Happy National Fungus Day…
… to all our fungal friends and friends-to-be!
How is an NGO like fungus?
Fungal networks, such as the mycorrhizal network that connects trees beneath the forest floor, are successful because they know how to share. By trading resources and information, they allow the plants and trees of the forest to work together for mutual resilience and abundance. At RAIN, we observe these networks closely, and mimic them across our own organisation. Some examples of this biomimicry (or mycomimicry) include:
Info-chemicals
In response to threats and opportunities, info-chemicals are passed by fungal strands between trees, including to trees of different species, to provoke an appropriate response to the stimuli. This informs our media policy, where we strive to create positive media that people want to share, that pass into communities beyond our own social circles, and provoke an appropriate response changing patterns of behaviour to support the network better.
Distributed networks
The mycorrhizal root network has no single centre; it shares information across the network, and the fungal threads it puts out are exploratory and autonomous. Many NGOs unconsciously adopt a colonial hierarchy, leading from the centre with a lesser circle of dependents. We prefer a decolonial network with a distributed governance system, where community-led projects make their own choices and partners in businesses use our network to find ways to support them. We have no CEO or director - our three co-directors discuss and argue among ourselves, and listen to whoever has suggestions to share, including experts, volunteers, passing ships and old friends.
Working beneath the surface
Mushrooms bloom from mycelial networks to spore and then swiftly melt back into the forest floor, while the greater part of the work of the fungus remains unseen in the moist earth. Much of RAIN’s work is likewise beneath the surface; we help our partners to grow by translating across languages, national borders and the psychological obstacles that are so common in the scarred landscapes of the post-colonial world. We may flash a little logo up at the beginning of a video that a corporate partner uses for branding, but the stories we amplify are those of our partners and we measure our success in terms of theirs.
Download the brochure for more on how mycomimicry guides the charitable functions of RAIN.
Beyond the metaphor
Fungal networks are, for RAIN, a model and a metaphor, and in some ways they are more than that. As many mycologists come to know, there is magic in mycelia (no, we're not talking about psilocybin). If you can afford £3 per month, you can become a member to facilitate regeneration - and who knows what magic might ensue.
