Editor's Note: According to Xinhua News Agency, recently, President Xi Jinping replied to scholars from 50 African countries, encouraging them to continue providing intellectual support for building a high-level China-Africa community of shared destiny and safeguarding the common interests of the "Global South." Xi emphasized that China and Africa have always been a community of shared destiny. In the face of a world with complex and intertwined changes, China and Africa must strengthen unity and cooperation more than ever. At Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, there is a female scholar who has devoted 20 years to China-Africa cooperation, bringing the wealth-generating mushroom grass technology to Africa. Mushroom grass has taken root across the vast African continent, becoming a new "monument" to the China-Africa cooperation of the new era.

According to a report by Southeast Net on September 5 (journalists Xu Shangfu, Wang Xiangnan, Lin Xianchang, and correspondent Lin Lianghui), Lin Dongmei's steps are still hurried. She had just organized two meetings on ecological governance and industrial development of mushroom grass at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert and in northern Xinjiang, and before the discussions had even dissipated, she was already aboard a flight to Beijing. As a representative of technical aid to Africa, she attended the opening ceremony of the 2024 China-Africa Cooperation Forum Beijing Summit.

As the messenger of mushroom grass technology to Africa, just a month ago, she visited three African countries—Rwanda, Tanzania, and Egypt—accompanying a high-level United Nations delegation to inspect the implementation of mushroom grass projects in Africa, conducting training on mushroom grass technology, and engaging in related project work.

Since starting to support South Africa in 2004, Lin Dongmei has made 37 trips to Africa over the past 20 years, bringing "happy grass" to every corner of Africa, making it the "wealth grass" and fulfilling the dream of happiness for many Africans, including numerous women and vulnerable groups.

Teaching to Fish Rather Than Giving Fish. Lin Dongmei adheres to the foreign aid philosophy of Professor Lin Zhanxi, known as the "Father of Mushroom Grass," and works with African women to teach them skills such as growing mushrooms and cultivating mushroom grass, helping them lift themselves out of poverty. She has formed a deep bond with African women. Many touching stories are widely praised in Africa. Lin Dongmei says, "They call me the 'Mushroom Grass Daughter.'"

In August this year, Lin Dongmei (second from the right) visited the mushroom grass cooperative in the southern province of Rwanda.

From "Father of Mushroom Grass" to "Daughter of Mushroom Grass"

The Mushroom Grass Foreign Aid Career Welcomes Its Successor

Since childhood, Lin Dongmei has always been proud of her father, Lin Zhanxi, known as the "Father of Mushroom Grass." In the 1980s, he invented the "use grass instead of wood" cultivation technique for edible mushrooms, solving the global "mushroom-forest conflict." The mushroom grass technology originated from Fujian, gradually spreading across the country and becoming a "poverty-alleviation grass" and "happy grass" helping to lift people out of poverty.

Lin Dongmei is currently the Deputy Dean of the College of Mushroom Grass and Ecology at Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, Deputy Director of the National Mushroom Grass Engineering Technology Research Center, and a consultant for the UN Mushroom Grass Project. Her path in mushroom grass seems inevitable, but it also contains some elements of chance.

At the age of 17, Lin Dongmei had the opportunity to study abroad in Singapore, which led her to be far away from her father's work and the mushroom grass cause. She spent ten years abroad, becoming a civil servant and leading a stable life. In 2001, when her father went to Papua New Guinea for the first time to carry out mushroom grass foreign aid, he had a brief reunion with her while transiting in Singapore. During this meeting, Lin Dongmei noticed the white hairs on her father's temples and his slow steps. This moment deeply touched her heart. Unable to bear seeing her father traveling alone, she gave up a good job and residence permit in Singapore and returned to China to join her father's mushroom grass technology team.

Upon returning to China, Lin Dongmei worked with her father to write textbooks, participate in scientific research, and translate materials. She traveled to impoverished areas both domestically and internationally. She gradually understood her father's persistence and the significance of this work—not just promoting technology but also making a commitment to the world. Lin Dongmei's addition filled the management gap in the team. Her multidisciplinary experience in chemistry, biology, and education, along with her international background, broadened her thinking and vision. She proposed the idea of industrializing mushroom grass technology to support research funding, advancing both technological development and the application of the technology.

Lin Dongmei's first visit to Africa was in 2004. At that time, she traveled with her father to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to promote mushroom grass technology. Upon arriving in Africa, she saw vast and barren land, and the local poverty left her shocked. "Isn't this exactly the place where we need mushroom grass?" Soon, Lin Dongmei saw hope for mushroom grass there.

Twenty years ago, mushroom grass technology was a novel concept for local farmers, and using mushroom grass to grow mushrooms was unheard of. They didn’t know how to control temperature and humidity when mushrooms were fruiting or how to manage mushroom farms. Lin Dongmei and her colleagues used the simplest method—buying water buckets of fixed capacity and teaching them to water a few buckets daily at set times. Though seemingly simple, this approach was based on scientific data obtained from repeated experiments by Lin Dongmei and her colleagues.

This tailored poverty alleviation plan helped local women farmers change their lives through their efforts. One woman, Plaishes, who earned only 390 South African rand a month, made 1,120 rand within a week by growing mushroom grass mushrooms. This not only relieved her of worries about her children’s school fees but also restored her dignity, and she regained the sparkle in her eyes. Seeing poor women improving their family lives by growing mushroom grass mushrooms, Lin Dongmei truly understood the significance of mushroom grass-based foreign aid: to ignite the hope of changing destinies for more people.

From Helping "Single Mothers" to Assisting Disabled Women

Lin Dongmei Has Made 37 Trips to Africa, Changing the Lives of Vulnerable Groups with Mushroom Grass

At the National Mushroom Grass Research Center at Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, a stone tablet stands quietly, engraved with the words: "Develop the mushroom grass industry to benefit all of humanity." These words were personally written by Xiang Nan, who had served as the Party Secretary of Fujian Province and later became the president of the China Foundation for Poverty Reduction. Over the past 20 years, Lin Dongmei has made 37 trips to Africa to promote mushroom grass technology. From deserts to tidal flats, from high altitudes to saline-alkali lands, she has measured many barren areas with her steps.

In Africa, Lin Dongmei promoted the "10-square-meter mushroom farm" model, where farmers can produce 1.2 tons of fresh mushrooms annually on just 10 square meters of land. After planting the mushroom grass, farmers can begin to earn income within just seven days. Lin Dongmei innovated an organizational model for developing countries: "Mushroom Grass Technology National Demonstration Base + Cooperatives + Farmers," organizing impoverished women, such as "single mothers," to develop mushroom grass production and achieve poverty alleviation. She has also provided scholarships, international training, and exchange opportunities for female youth and farmers in multiple countries.

In June 2023, Lin Dongmei was invited to give a keynote speech at the China-Africa Women’s Forum, where she shared the story of Fereda Kolalom, a woman from Papua New Guinea, who changed her life through mushroom grass technology. Lin Dongmei was both a witness and a participant in this story. With the help of Chinese experts, Fereda went from being a poor rural woman to a leader in mushroom grass planting. Now, she has built her own house, bought a vehicle, and started her own mushroom grass farm, producing 200 kilograms of fresh mushrooms every week for mushroom dealers in the Eastern Highlands Province and providing employment to 25 local farmers, most of whom are women. Over the years, Fereda has promoted mushroom grass technology to 10 surrounding villages and, along with Chinese experts, has trained 1,500 local women, youth, and disabled people.

"In my experience of helping developing countries, I have met many women like Fereda," Lin Dongmei says. "Through the empowerment of mushroom grass technology, unemployed female university graduates in Lesotho and disabled women in Fiji have transformed into female presidents, female entrepreneurs, and female scientists."

From South Africa and Rwanda to the Vast African Land

The "Mushroom Grass Daughter" Continues Writing the Beautiful Story of Shared Happiness

In early August this year, during a mushroom grass technology training session in Rwanda, Agnes Inkamye was present. She is Rwanda's first mushroom grass project coordinator.

In 2007, after graduating from university, Agnes found her direction upon meeting Chinese mushroom grass experts for the first time. Working alongside Chinese experts every day filled her with great excitement.

Agnes says, "The most fulfilling thing for me is that we can help so many people. Mushroom grass technology is especially popular, and after training, many women and youth found ways to make a living. Some even doubled their incomes."

Over the past 20 years, the mushroom grass research team led by Lin Zhanxi and Lin Dongmei has trained more than 8,000 students from 45 African countries. They have established demonstration bases and sites of varying scales in Rwanda, Central Africa, Lesotho, South Africa, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Tanzania, promoting Chinese mushroom grass technology. Globally, over 14,000 people have been trained, and the mushroom grass technology has been translated into 18 languages, spreading continuously worldwide. The foreign aid of mushroom grass, like a "spark," ignites hope and the light of friendship. In Lesotho, mushroom grass technology has even become the theme of local folk songs: "Some say it is a weed; some say it is life; it is food, and it is medicine; it is the thing of hope..." Lin Dongmei deeply understands that the promotion of mushroom grass technology is not just a technical aid but also an exploration of a new development model. She has innovated an organizational form for developing countries: "National Demonstration Base of Mushroom Grass Technology + Cooperatives + Farmers," organizing the poorest women, such as "single mothers," to develop mushroom grass production and achieve poverty alleviation and prosperity. She has provided scholarships and international training and exchange opportunities for young women and farmers from multiple countries. In 2019, for her contributions to agricultural development in Central Africa, President Touadéra of the Central African Republic awarded her the "National Order of Merit (Officer) Medal." This not only recognizes her personal efforts but also acknowledges the contributions of mushroom grass technology in Africa. In Lin Dongmei's plan, she and her team aim to establish 20 more mushroom grass demonstration bases globally in the next five years, continuing to promote the global development of mushroom grass technology. Lin Dongmei says she hopes to expand the scope of mushroom grass technology services and enhance the level of empowerment for women's development, promote localized production of high-quality protein foods in various countries, increase women's employment and poverty reduction using mushroom grass technology, and apply mushroom grass ecological management technology to address extreme climate conditions, especially providing more economical and effective green sustainable development solutions for efficient water use, food security, and sandstorm prevention in arid regions. Thanks to Lin Dongmei's efforts, universities in Central Africa and Nigeria have officially started mushroom grass courses. Through online introductions to mushroom grass technology, Lin Dongmei has taught thousands of people, sharing experiences on how to develop the mushroom grass industry. This technology has opened new paths for African developing countries in increasing employment, reducing poverty, and protecting the ecological environment, helping to solve many development challenges. At the same time, mushroom grass technology has built bridges of friendship in Sino-African exchanges, contributing Chinese solutions and wisdom to the global poverty reduction cause and making significant contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind and a high-level Sino-African community with a shared future. "Developing mushroom grass to benefit humanity." This is not just a slogan but also Lin Dongmei's firm belief in the future. She deeply understands that promoting mushroom grass technology is not only the dissemination of knowledge but also the blending of cultures, the transmission of hope and friendship. As she has demonstrated in her work, this small grass, though tiny, is crossing oceans and reaching the world under her efforts, bringing hope for changing destinies to more people.