| dc.description.abstract | BACKGROUND. There is a lack of research on the traditional uses of wild mushrooms in miombo woodlands. This study explored the experiences of female mushroom hunters in rural Zambia with a focus on the significance of wild mushrooms as a source of livelihood, food, and medicine in a setting undergoing environmental change.
METHODS. A qualitative study with 15 group interviews, 4 individual interviews and 2 walk-in-the-woods interviews with 160 women across four provinces in Zambia. The semi-structured interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative methods.
FINDINGS. The women interviewed expressed that the women are the ones teaching their children about wild mushrooms gathering. The interviews revealed that they possess a vast knowledge of mushroom folk taxonomy, forest ecology, and food and medicinal uses. Selling wild mushrooms was said to be part of the livelihood of the women, and wild mushroom collection a source of enjoyment. During the interviews, the female mushroom hunters showed considerable awareness of environmental changes like drought, deforestation, and the mining industry and how these changes impact on mushroom habitats.
CONCLUSION. Wild mushrooms contributed to the women’s livelihood as well as enjoyment, being an important source of food and use as medicine. Further studies on ethnomycological knowledge in Zambia are strongly encouraged.
KEYWORDS. wild mushrooms, Zambia, miombo woodlands, ethnomycology, ethnoecology, medicinal fungi, edible fungi, women’s livelihood
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