Before the heat settles over Ho Chi Minh City, Sr Agathe Tran Thi Mong Huyen steps quietly into a small mushroom-growing house behind her convent to tend to some 4000 mushroom bags. Source: NCR Online.
Fine mist hangs in the air. Next to Sr Huyen, Sr Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa checks the humidity gauges and the date labels on each shelf.
Each day, both St Paul de Chartres nuns spend about three hours tending to the mushrooms, watering them four to five times during hot weather and less when the days are cooler or rainy.
Tran Thi Mong Huyen
"It's become part of our daily rhythm," Sr Huyen said. "We watch the weather closely. The mushrooms respond immediately."
The sisters began mushroom cultivation in August after a benefactor introduced them to a local company supplying organic mushroom-growing bags. The company provides both materials and technical training.
The sisters cultivate five varieties of organic mushrooms, including abalone and reishi. The project promotes organic farming, which they teach to community members. Mushroom sales also raise money to support scholarships.
Sr Huyen
Sr Huyen said the project was a concrete response to Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'. "We protect the environment, protect human health and provide clean food for families," she said. "That's why we chose this work."
For the two nuns, mushroom cultivation has become a new form of ministry. Sr Huyen spent more than 30 years working in early childhood education, while Sr Hoa devoted decades to pastoral care for hospital patients.
"Now this is our new mission," Sr Huyen said. "It keeps us attentive and joyful."
Huyen
The sisters supply mushrooms to other religious communities, kindergartens, and centres serving children with physical disabilities under their congregation's care.
This is the first mushroom garden run by the St Paul de Chartres nuns. They hope to expand the model and offer others an opportunity to cultivate mushrooms for public health and environmental protection.
It's become part of our daily rhythm.
Where this fits
Wild and seasonal foods reward anyone who buys little and often, since the difference between a good week and a great one is usually measured in days.
The short version
- Each day, both St Paul de Chartres nuns spend about three hours tending to the mushrooms, watering them four to five times during hot weather and less when the days are cooler or rainy
- "It's become part of our daily rhythm," Sr Huyen said
- Sr Huyen said the project was a concrete response to Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'
- For the two nuns, mushroom cultivation has become a new form of ministry
- "Now this is our new mission," Sr Huyen said
Common questions
What should you know about St Paul de Chartres?
Each day, both St Paul de Chartres nuns spend about three hours tending to the mushrooms, watering them four to five times during hot weather and less when the days are cooler or rainy.
What happens next?
Next to Sr Huyen, Sr Marie Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa checks the humidity gauges and the date labels on each shelf.
The bottom line
The details will firm up over the coming months. What is already clear is that this is unlikely to be the last we hear of it.