After toiling away in North Vancouver, Farhad Zahir made the move to Cortes Island in 2020 to escape the city and try rural life. He brought with him a passion to grow mushrooms for food and medicine and an ambition to do it commercially.

Zahir now sells fresh mushrooms such as Lions Mane, Maitake and Shittakes at a local market and supplies a couple of restaurants on the island. He is also aiming to develop dehydrated products which can ship off Cortes Island easily.

Self-taught in the science, clinical experimentation and research of mushrooms and their applications, Zahir continually studies, all while paying attention to detail—systems, conditions, hygiene and capacity for growing his business—in the rural setting he's chosen to set up shop and call home.

As one wing of his business, Livespore, grows through scientific exploration and  research, along with investigating business opportunities, he's also developing Fungisle, a brand for identifying, producing and distributing his products.

After a couple of years starting up, Zahir hopes to make significant gains in 2022, as he focusses on producing specific products easy to distribute around a small island, with plans for moving beyond.

CKTZ News speaks with Farhad Zahir about the challenges and triumphs of developing a small business in a rural setting: