Building a Mushroom House and Starting a Multi-Functional Activity Hall

Reported by Qianzi Celestial

Since the three wooden bridges at Thai home were rebuilt, and the courtyard and garden near the kichen were fenced with neat and beautiful bamboo, the vegetable-covered trellises have become less visually appealing. The old, rickety chicken coop now feels out of place with the surroundings. So, the decision was made to tear down the coop and start building an activity hall. This idea alone is exciting, but what’s even better is the immediate action that followed. Everyone has thrown themselves wholeheartedly into creating our home with a sense of energy and enthusiasm. In the five years since we started Thai home, this is the first time we’ve truly felt the excitement of building our home. Despite the intense labor, we are filled with joy and excitement.

Abo, a visitor from Yemen, has lived with us for ten days, helping plant cucumbers, dismantle the chicken coop, and remove old trellises. His kindness, sincerity, and tireless effort have earned our admiration and affection. He has also fallen in love with our lifestyle, appreciating the warmth and harmony of our big family. He says these have been the most beautiful ten days of his life, and he hopes to spend the rest of his life with us. During a visit to temple, we met two friends from Sri Lanka, brought by old friend Anan. After sharing a pizza dinner with us, they enthusiastically joined our building activities.

Our mushroom project, which has been on the agenda for some time, is still in its initial phases. We plan to expand it in the future, but for now, we’re growing mushrooms on a small scale to accumulate experience. Large-scale production would require exploring markets, handling sales, and even buying land and starting a company. Under Yi Xian’s attentive care, our 300 mushroom “babies” have started producing, and today, for the first time, we harvested mushrooms and sent them to the temple for Abbot and the monks to taste.

2024-10-31