Speaker: Caine Barlow, Guerilla Mycology
About: Magic Mushrooms have been cultivated since the late 1950s – for almost 70 years – by an impressive community of underground cultivators and researchers. In 1956, mycologist Dr. Roger Heim was gifted a spore print of (cue the nasal tones of Terence McKenna) “Stropharia cubensis” by Valentina and Gordon Wasson. The mushrooms Heim went on to cultivate in his laboratory were the first known indoor flush of “Gold Tops”; of course he sampled them, and two months later he was in Oaxaca with the Wassons foraging for more species…
The history of magic mushroom cultivation contains an array of remarkable individuals, intent on sharing the health and psychological benefits of these quirky fungi. Weaving narratives from an emerging self sufficient counter culture of the 60s, the amazon jungle in the 70s, through the counter cultural abyss of the Reagan years, into the psychedelic renaissance on the 90s and beyond, this talk covers the principal individuals and their contribution to a rich, and vibrant community of dedicated cultivators.
Bio: Caine Barlow is a Fungi Educator and Mycologist based in Melbourne, Australia. He gives regular talks on mycology, fungi genetics, fungi conservation, and teaches gourmet mushroom cultivation. He works closely with the Australian organisation Entheogenesis Australis, and is a co-founder of the US-based organisation The Entheome Foundation.
Caine started foraging mushrooms in the early 1990’s, started cultivating gourmet fungi in the mid 2000’s. He completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Tasmania and a Master of Science at the University of Melbourne, where his research project focused on Conservation Mycology.
He is the author of the 2024 book Wakeful Mushroom Cultivation Journal, and has written widely for organisations such as Entheogenesis Australis, DoubleBlind, ThirdWave, and Psychedelics Today. He has coauthored papers on Wood-lover Paralysis, the ecology and the genetics of Psilocybe. Caine posts regularly on his Instagram, @guerrillamycology. His website is www.guerrillamycology.com
