We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alannah Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alannah below.

Hi Alannah , thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The world would not be what it is without fungi. Fungi play a vital role in many ecosystems, such as breaking down waste from plant and animal debris (side note – the world would be a very smelly place without this service!) to transporting and cycling nutrients from that process and others back into soils so that they are readily available for plants, micro and macro organisms, and other fungi. In that respect, fungi are the foundation for all life on earth and are champion organisms in that they can regenerate soils and create new earth; hence where I came up with the name New Earth Fungi. It’s perfect! :)

Alannah , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Alannah Johnson is a Biomimicry Practitioner, Mycologist, and founder of New Earth Fungi (NEF). She began her journey as a mycologist over a decade ago when she was introduced to growing shiitakes on logs. From that point on, Alannah became dedicated to studying not only edible mushrooms, but all fungi, and later developed the University of Alaska Southeast’s first mycology club, to spread and share fungal knowledge around her community. Alannah is the first Black woman commercial mushroom farmer in the state of Alaska. Alannah became a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2019, and less than a year later was evacuated back to the U.S. among thousands of other Peace Corps volunteers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then that Alannah decided it was time to start her mushroom farming business.

NEF is a gourmet and medicinal mushroom farming business that began in Juneau, Alaska, and is currently being further developed in several new locations around the U.S. NEF was established in 2020 to provide a local source of freshly cultivated mushrooms to grocers, restaurants, visitors, and the community. NEF also produces medicinal mushroom tonics & mushrooms in dried form. NEF is passionate about food security and Nature-based education and provides educational activities, such as wild mushroom forays, and mushroom cultivation workshops.

Alannah is most proud of following her passion and believing in herself and the work she shares with others. “There have been many times that I have failed in this process, from things catching fire to struggling to find the right commercial space, and so on, but no matter all of those obstacles, I know my knowledge, skills, and desire to try new things will always keep me motivated to be of service to others, produce high-quality work, and keep being the hyphae that spread knowledge and resources in this human mycelial network.”

Alannah expresses that the world could not be what it is without fungi. Fungi play an important role in the environment by breaking down waste, transporting nutrients to plants and other organisms and so much more. Fungi act as the internet in our forest and other terrestrial ecosystems. Waste produced from NEF returns to the earth, producing more mushrooms while also remediating the soil. NEF values cooperative relationships like Fungi and strives to emulate Nature for the health of our community, economy, and environment.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that failure is a weakness. This entire process of running a business has not been all sunshine and rainbows, it’s been incredibly hard work with many setbacks. For example, finding a new location to expand in Juneau, Alaska has been one of my biggest challenges, so much so, that I had to start looking in other parts of the country to continue running my business. For those who are unfamiliar with the region, Juneau is landlocked, sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and a massive Icefield with hundreds of glaciers. One can only get there by boat, plane, or birth lol. Real estate is quite expensive and there aren’t many available commercial spaces to begin with, compared to places in the lower 48 States.

So, there was definitely a point where I felt like I failed and was losing my business and had all of this anxiety about what people would think if I wasn’t operating in the way that I wanted. It took me some time to take a step back and reflect on all that I had accomplished, and honestly “failing” has opened up so many new opportunities that I’m incredibly grateful for.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There is this amazing book called “Emergent Strategy” by Adrienne Maree Brown

Highly recommend! It’s changed the way I think about conducting business, relationships with Nature, and thinking about business on a systems level. I won’t spoil it, so I suggest you read it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newearthfungi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alannah-johnson-481462156/

Image Credits
Alannah Johnson