CULLEN TAYLOR CLARK
THE LOST MUTI
AN UNTOLD STORY OF FUNGI IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
could south africa not only be
the cradle of human kind,
but the cradle of spirituality too.
JOIN THIS INCREDIBLE PROJECT TO TELL
THE LONG FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF FUNGI
IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
TIME LINE
JULY 2024
GARNER MEDIA HYPE
SEP 2024
LAUNCH FUNDRAISER
SEP 2024
FIELDWORK CONTINUES
OCT 2025
BOOK IS COMPILED
FEB 2026
GLOBAL LAUNCH
WE ARE
CURRENTLY
HERE
There is a void in our literature, a gaping chasm of uncertainty - why do we turn to other nations and their
history of fungi when telling the story of mushrooms & man, we look to the Incredible Civilisations of South America, Europe, & Siberia but fail to mention the cradle, the birthplace of humanity, is it because our people don’t
and never have used mushrooms or more simply, is it because no one has taken the time to look. I have dedicated the last 5 years of my life to finding undeniable proof of the use of fungi by indigenous tribal people of Southern Africa. I have travelled thousands of kilometers, spoken to several hundred diviners and traditional healers, combed
through early settler diaries, and even pieced together ancient long forgotten manuscripts all to better tell the
story of what really happened here between Fungi & early Hunter Gatherers. Help me on this journey as we tell
the story of how modern tribal people use fungi for gourmet, therapeutic & entheogenic reasons in
Southern African , as well as unearth a
long forgotten secret, a hidden practice not written in books or letters, but painted on the walls of the past - and lost to the annuls of time
What the project will entail
OVER 300 NEVER BEFORE DOCUMENTED ROCKART DEPICTIONS OF FUNGI HAVE BEEN FOUND
A FIRST OF ITS KIND
BOOK DOCUMENTING
ALL FINDINGS &
STORIES
CREATION OF MONOGRAPHS ON SA FUNGI,INDIGENOUS NAMES, USES, RECIPES & MORE​
CLICK TO SEE A 3RD IMAGE
NEW SPECIES
DISCOVERIES & COMPOUND FRACTIONATION WILL
TAKE PLACE
How the funding will be allocated
we need to raise $35k (R633,600)
for my team & I to spend the next 12 months
dedicated to documenting everything
we possibly can on the use of fungi in sa
ONCE OFF $15 DONATION (R266)
Basic to make this happen
t1
-
Flight & fuel costs per month $281 (R5000)
-
Accommodation +- 7 days per month $196 (R3500)
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Translator & offering costs per month $112 (R2000)
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Website setup and hosting per month $16 (R300)
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Salary for Cullen to create blogs, articles, papers & research/compile book $548 (R10 000)
= WE NEED A TOTAL OF $14,043 (R249,600)
ONCE OFF $30 DONATION (R533)
Above & Beyond
t2
-
Accomplish all of tier 1
-
Salary for admin, accounts & social media manager per month $548 (R10 000)
-
Salary For Creative Manager per month $548 (R10 000) (photographs & videos)
-
Additional flight & fuel cost for creative manager per month $225 (R4000)
= WE NEED A TOTAL OF $30,246 (R537,600)
t3
This would make my world
ONCE OFF $36 DONATION (R639)
-
Accomplish all of tier 1
-
Accomplish all of tier 2
-
We can increase translator & offering costs substantially every month $225 (R4000)
-
Chemistry R&D can be conducted on each species every month $225 (R4000)
= WE NEED A TOTAL OF $35,646 (R633,600)
t4
For the love of Fungi
STRETCH GOAL
-
Accomplish all of tier 1
-
Accomplish all of tier 2
-
Accomplish all of tier 3
This final tier is a dream, but by no means necessary at this stage in telling this story.
Any additional funds will be used to bolster the project, to look closer, travel further and enquire more. I will be able to do multiple expeditions per month & visit areas not in my scope for cost reasons. Further funding will also be allocated to projects with a wider reach that can help teach the world about the fungi of SA, like the establishment of a simple culture library for SA medicinal species in the hopes of preserving valuable specimens for future researchers (allowing scientists in the future an opportunity to discover new novel medicines from wild strains). Perhaps even a fungarium or first of its kind (in SA) museum to display my findings or even orchestrating a 2 week fungal expedition for backers, walk where I walked and learn about these fungi in my homeland. I have many more ideas, but these will be figured out and announced should we surpass the $35K funding amount
Supporter Incentives
this research is changing history
I was asked to participate on a landmark research paper, that would solidify the Basotho people as the first tribe documented to use psychedelic mushrooms to access altered states of consciousness .
​
My research was paramount in discovering that this new mushroom grows in the highlands of Lesotho, and the local diviners & healers use it for diagnosing maladies, accessing transcendental spaces & as a therapeutic for many afflictions - this is a clear indication that there is knowledge waiting to be discovered, we need only look
​
I know that with your help & donations we can write many more papers on new undiscovered species & their uses
​
read the paper here
never before documented data
Throughout my travels i've recorded the most incredible information. For the longest time our academic literature has documented little to no uses of fungi in southern African tribal people - We're going to take up the mantle
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Not only has this project brought to light dozens of previously unknown uses of fungi by healers & diviners, but we've also for the very first time documented Indigenous Names, recipes, Belief systems, Rituals & more
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Your donation can help me and my team travel further, speak to more people, decipher early bantu records and discover knowledge locked away from the general public in archives & universities all around our nation
we were mushroom loving people
Perhaps the most extraordinary finding i've made to date is outlined in my hypothesis that our ancient ancestors that walk these lands revered fungi of all types. Perhaps they used them for food, for medicine, and to commune with the divine, to peer into the spirit world
​
In order to pass down their knowledge of these amazing mushroom allies our people needed to keep record, and what better place than rock that would stand the test of time. I believe i've found hundreds of depictions of potential mushroom iconography in our rock art dating back well over 11 000 years.
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With your support I can travel and document these fascinating artworks in person and decipher once and for all if they do in fact depict fungi
we revered gold & maybe mushrooms
I've found potential artifacts resembling mushrooms whilst sifting through records of the ancient site called mapungubwe
​
There are also illustrations by the early excavators showcasing pottery & statues that too look extraordinarily similar to known fungal varieties that grow in this area
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With your help we can go through these archives that are locked away to anyone other than researchers, we can shine a light on this 949 year old civilisation and see for certain if they revered not only Rhinos, Lions & Gold - But Mushrooms too
CULLEN TAYLOR CLARK
My story has wound from youth to adulthood with more that a few twists & turns, some bizarre enough that they would not be misplaced in a TV show, others difficult but perfect , all of them instrumental though in forging the man I am today.
Along that journey gifts were bestowed upon me that were pivotal in steering the course of my life. To name but a few: My 2 mother's & several maternal figures kindness for those in need. My grandmother igniting in me a love for nature. My Grandfathers devotion to knowledge acquisition left me eager for understanding and the 3 father figures that bore that duty, each taught me many things - boiled down they allowed me to glimpse the man I wished to be. ​I have lived many lives, and dabbled in a fair few professions - but it's all been underpinned by a single desire to do good, or better yet - to be a FORCE for good in this world.
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I am one of the Co-Founders & the Visionary Head of Aether Apothecary, a bioceutical API manufacturer in South Africa geared to helping SMME's bring their natural medicine, food, beverage or cosmetic product to life, we are focussed on the establishment of new fungal based industry that can bring innovative products to market whilst uplifting the communities that make our work possible. I have brought several brands/products to fruition with many more on the way. Additionally my career has been blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with leading South African universities on projects like new compound identification as well as new fungal species discovery. This all culminates (I believe) in me being the ideal person to tell this incredible story, as my passions are diverse, my love for fungi unwavering, my character steadfast and my motives pure, as you come with me on this journey I hope you'll see that.