About Us
Who we are |
UrbanFarmers was founded by Waqar Choudhry, Luke Osborne and Panagiotis Drakoulis.
It has been formed though the integration of two independent start-ups, both pursuing the same dreams. After meeting at the Mushroom Learning Network (MLN) in Paris (September 2015), it became clear that co-operation of our two companies was beneficial. After months of sharing knowledge and experience, we knew that that collectively, we had something special. Collectively, we are the Urban Farmers. Waqar for many years has worked as a drug and addictions counsellor , helping people to get back on their feet. Working closely with the council, he has enabled many people to turn their lives around and return to independent living. Fungiespress helps to further this work, offering job training and responsibility and helping them gain skills to re-enter the work place. Luke is a Renewable Energy Specialist and professional photographer. With EnergyMyWay (Essex), his renewable energy company -he furthers the belief that we can create sustainability at a local level. He also has close ties with the local cockle fishing industry, a proven sustainable environment Panos, had a long history of working as an advertising executive in Athens, before setting up Recyworks, a Greek start up growing Oyster mushrooms. Recyworks won numerous awards including being Greek Finalists in an international competition for ingenuity and sustainability. These collective backgrounds, have helped to shape the aims of UrbanFarmers. |
Our Building |
As our entire ethos revolves around recycling and re-use, we needed a workspace that reflected this. After searching around for the ideal location, we managed to secure the perfect location- a large basement premises that had laid disused for nearly 20 years. After many months of hard graft and 'elbow grease', we had reclaimed this as the base for UrbanFarmers.
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Our History |
BBC radio has a lot to answer for! It was a program about a project based in Holland that started the interest. Since then, we have worked closely with like-minded individuals and companies across Europe, from Rotterdam to Paris, Greece and beyond to further a collective knowledge and understanding into Permaculture', the system of agricultural and social design principles that enable us to grow the mushrooms in this special way.
We are part of the Mushroom Learning Network, a global support system for mushroom growers, driving and disseminating this knowledge. |