Gippsland business owner understands the magic of mushrooms

After a move to East Gippsland to pursue his own mushroom farm, Bien Lema is forging ahead — even in light of a string of professional and personal hurdles.

Bien Lema with a fresh batch of his mushrooms. Picture: Nicole Cleary

In less than a year since launching his business, Flora & Fungi, Bien Lema has become East Gippsland’s resident “mushroom man”.

Driven by a passion for mycology and cultivating mushrooms, Mr Lema’s dream was finally realised after leaving his engineering career in Melbourne to pursue mushroom growing in country Victoria.

“It’s been an interesting journey thus far. My ex-partner and I moved to East Gippsland last year, then our relationship broke down about six months into the project,” Mr Lema said.

“I was in two minds about whether to sell up and return to my old job or to have a real go and get my business off the ground.”

Not one to shy away when the going gets tough, Mr Lema steamed ahead with the project,

converting an existing American-style barn on his property to cultivate his mushrooms.

Bien Lema with some of his specially grown mushrooms. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“The thing about mushroom growing is that you can’t purchase dedicated equipment, which is where my engineering background helped. My neighbour’s a mechanic, so he assisted with the welding and together we fit everything out,” Mr Lema said.

Once the barn was fully operational, the bushfires hit.

“It was incredibly devastating, both personally and for the East Gippsland community,” he said.

“I was in the process of growing my first batch of mushrooms, which were ruined since all the machinery had to be switched off during the evacuation.”

Then, while growing his next batch of mushrooms, the pandemic hit.

“It’s been one disaster after the next. When you’re working from 7am to as late as 10pm every day and you’re not getting paid because it’s your own business, it can become quite soul destroying,” he said.

Bien Lema’s mushrooms involve a complex fermentation process. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“If it wasn’t for my property’s incredible views, I would have probably left and returned to Melbourne at that point.”

Fortunately his unwavering resilience is paying off, with local businesses helping put his name on the mushroom map.

“The East Gippsland community have been incredibly supportive, especially the local restaurants and cafes,” he said.

“Tanya (Bertino) and Anton (Eisenmenger), who run The Long Paddock, were excited to use my mushrooms since the varieties I grow are harder to come by.

“They’ve also been really proactive in helping me get my product out there.”

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