I would say the largest stakeholders in our project are NGOs, mushroom growers, mushroom sellers, WHI, and our customers. I have separated NGO’s and WHI because they serve very different roles in our project. In this case, NGOs could either be MPS purchasers themselves or could help finance other individuals in both the original purchase and any further training that is needed. These NGOs would be putting both the achievement of their own goals and use of their money on what would be largely our shoulders. Mushroom growers then, are moved by money. In our case many of the actual producers will be financed by NGOs, so their motivation would be the prospect of making more money and the fact that they could have much lower risk. They also could what to grow mushrooms for them to utilize in the home. Mushroom sellers are purely motivated by money. Whether we by mushrooms from producers and sell them or another vendor purchases mushrooms to sell, money is still the primary motivation. Because of this for example, if we had to employ someone to actually sell the mushrooms they would likely be best suited for some kind of monetary incentive for selling. WHI is a massive stakeholder for our project. They already have invested time and money in use. Additionally, I would include Jawara and Shaku as well. WHI is very motivated by measurable impact. If we are able to show them that that is very probable than they will continue to support us. Shaku and Jawara are also motivated by money but also certainly by the prospect of the difference they can make in their communities. In terms of the food market, there are a few basic motivations that just about everyone holds. These are price, appearance, taste, smell, and nutrition. At this point we are unsure of how we can fulfill these motivations (except for nutrition) because we haven’t actually tried to sell mushrooms in Sierra Leone.

Well I certainly think it would be fair for me to just say grow mushrooms, grow mushrooms, and grow mushrooms, there are still many other things that we can do. One for example would be to continue to connect with experts in the field. Our projects looks much more credible if we have had expert review our processes. Continuing to collaborate with the ones we’ve found and seeking out new ones can be very helpful. Actually growing mushrooms however is the primary goal. Preferably this will be done in a way that is easily transferable to Sierra Leone. Once this is done it will also be important to complete detailed manuals on how to replicate all of our processes. This will be vital for not just our own employees learning but also for proving to WHI and potential funding sources that we have validated that these processes work.