discussion participants with a Dutch mushroom grower

America, the Netherlands, that is. In the Netherlands there is a small town in the south-east, near Horst, called America. Not named after a continent, but long before the big America was so named, after a nearby swamp. People keep their feet dry, in present times, and we find the internationally famous mushroom research centre, nowadays called PPO, at the side of the town.

C point, the fusion between the mushroom growers’ training centre and DLV consultancy, is located in the same building as PPO. It is in this building that the famous “short course” takes place. At least the start of it, as the course also goes to farms, compost yards, market places and so on.

The course was first held in 1972 at the mushroom growers’ training centre in Horst.
It is right there that it has developed to an internationally famous course, so far attended by hundreds of people from all over the world. It is in particular this contact with a lot of others involved in the mushroom industry that flavours the course to a lot more than just the exchange of knowledge with the Dutch teachers. Those teachers, by the way, are professionals, with a lot of practical experience in their specific working area and specialism. People with a lot of practical solutions for practical problems, because they are not only teachers but also consultants, being on farms and compost yards several days a week.

But not only can an attendee at the course learn from the teachers, also it can be very interesting to find out how a guy from South-Africa deals with composting problems, if you yourself are struggling in cold conditions in Finland.
Talking to participants, and also having a beer with them in the evening, it also strikes me every time how close people from all over the world become after being together for some 12 days. Friendships are born here. It would go to far to say that the problems of the world are being solved over a cup of coffee, but never have we experienced any discussions without a positive end.

So - the mushroom growers' training centre is still there, and organises short courses every year.

C point has, from January 2001, taken over all activities from the mushroom growers’  training centre, including the short course. The only difference is that we no longer have a farm of our own, because it was simply no longer financially justified.  Instead we have chosen to work with several nearby farms, always with the newest growing techniques. This means that the participants will spent a great deal of the course outside the classroom and in the growing room. The next “short course” will be held in May 2003.

John Peeters
C point.

More Info on America and Horst:
HORST, The Netherlands