Blog

Education, Events and Foraging

the map of north america overlaid with different coloured translucent squares representing the territories of the indigenous peoples who were first native to the land

July 08, 2020

Traditional foods of the Canadian Indigenous

What did Indigenous peoples of Canada eat as traditional foods before contact with Europeans and subsequent colonization? And what about the traditional use of fungi in Canada?

Image of Angela Davis at a protest speaking to a crowd of people

June 08, 2020

Black Lives Matter. Resources & Education

A note to our Rainbo community from our founder Tonya Papanikolov as well as Rainbo's commitments, an education resource list complied by our team which will be updated frequently. This is just the beginning.

a pair of hands holding reishi mushrooms that are gold brown and tan bands shiny in appearance

April 30, 2020

What is an adaptogen, really?

Adaptogens are what help the body to adapt to both psychological and environmental stress. Some potent adaptogenic powers lie within medicinal mushrooms, which is one of the reasons we're so excited about them.

an old piece of art from the Mayan or Incan traditions showing two human like figures holding out plates with brown cubes of whats thought to be cacao

February 13, 2020

Cacao + Mushrooms: Food of the Gods & Flesh of the Gods

With a relationship rooted in ancient history, cacao and mushrooms have a profound connection. The official name of the cacao tree is theobroma cacao, made up of the greek roots theo (“god”) and broma (“food”), to mean “food of the gods”.

4 spoons are lined up on a sandy grey background the first one has honey in it, the second has maple syrup, the third coconut sugar and the fourth is refined white sugar

January 28, 2020

Sugar: The Better Alternative!

Refinement is the process of removing impurities, so let us refine our concept of refined sugar and all of it's cousins. Sugar has a pretty bittersweet reputation in our diets. The sweet side is that sugar is a natural and necessary energy source ...

a vintage postcard shows two young children outside in the snow picking bright red mushrooms with white spots on them and putting them in baskets. They wear matching red with white polkadot hats and are surrounded by evergreen trees laden with snow.

December 19, 2019

Santa was a Shaman

The most famous mushroom in pop-culture is a psychedelic mushroom - the iconic toadstool with a red cap and white dots is called Amanita muscaria. Regardless of where the origin of Santa Claus comes from, this time of year is a time of rebirth, ...

Close up picture of oyster mushrooms on their side. The photo has been edited to make them look purple at the top and fade into a pink at the bottom.

November 27, 2019

How Do Medicinal Mushrooms Support Immune Function?

Our immune system is essential. It’s our vital line of defence against pathogens and rogue cells, and we need it for survival. With the change of the seasons and the incoming cold, it is even more important to keep our immune system healthy, locke...

close up image of orange cordyceps that are dried. image by rainbo

October 08, 2019

Medicinal Mushroom Science: Benefits & Superpowers

A scientific review of the medicinal properties of each mushroom in our 11:11 tincture. These powerful and magical organisms have an ancient history of traditional use going back thousands of years, yet are largely unknown in today’s Western soci...

a bunch of different coloured mushrooms all piled together with dirt around and on them. Each mushroom is either orange, yellow, grey, beige or purple in colour

August 30, 2019

Foray with Rainbo

We're excited to announce our first Foray of the season scheduled for October 5, 2019, lead by Tonya Papanikolov and Antonio Cillero Rodrigo from Mushroom Guerrilla and Mycological Society of Toronto.