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Native psilocybin use in Southern Africa | Manifund
webmanifund.org·manifund.org/projects/document-psilocybin-in-lesotho
This resource describes an ethnobotanical research project on indigenous psilocybin use in Southern Africa, funded via Manifund. It has no direct relevance to AI safety.
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Summary
This Manifund grant project documents traditional psilocybin mushroom use by Basotho healers in Lesotho, Southern Africa. The researcher aims to collect physical samples for biochemical analysis and expand fieldwork to other Southern African regions. The goal is to identify novel compounds and practices that could inform Western psychedelic medicine.
Key Points
- •A new psilocybin mushroom species native to Lesotho was documented in 2023, with traditional Basotho healers using it ritually.
- •Basotho practices differ from Mazatec traditions: smaller doses over longer periods, often mixed with other psychoactive plants.
- •Project aims to rigorously document Basotho use and collect samples for analysis at the University of Stellenbosch.
- •Fieldwork will expand to Tanzania and Zimbabwe to investigate indigenous psilocybin use across Southern Africa.
- •Funded initially by Astral Codex Ten ($13,000) with a $160,000 broader funding goal via Manifund.
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Native psilocybin use in Southern Africa | Manifund
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Native psilocybin use in Southern Africa
ACX Grants 2025
Eli Elster
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$13,000raised
$160,000funding goal
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Description of proposed project
In 2023, mycologists documented a new species of psilocybin mushroom native to Lesotho -- but more strikingly, they reported that traditional Basotho healers in the region were using the mushrooms for ritual purposes. In the summer of 2025, I traveled to the Lesotho highlands to investigate these claims. They were legitimate: healers were near-unanimously familiar with the mushrooms. Many of the healers described ritual uses to me that differed starkly from those documented elsewhere -- for instance, among the Mazatec Indians in Mexico. Whereas the Mazatecs consumed large doses of psilocybin for a single session, the Basotho consumed much smaller doses for longer periods of time, and they often mixed the mushrooms with other psychoactive plants.
The biochemical properties of these compounds remain unknown. But given that the modern psychedelic industry has drawn massively from Mazatec traditions -- for instance, in the emphasis on guided therapy, 'set and setting,' and the use of music -- it is likely that medical practice could also learn from the distinct Basotho traditions. Furthermore, the Basotho may be one case among many in Southern Africa. Native psilocybin mushrooms also grow in Tanzania, and Zimbabwe; but as of yet, no one has investigated whether indigenous groups in those regions use them in ways similar (or different) to those of the Basotho.
The aims of my project are twofold. First, I want to rigorously document the use of psilocybin by the Basotho, and aim especially to collect physical samples that can be analyzed by my partners at the University of Stellenbosch. Second, I want to expand my fieldwork into other parts of Southern Africa and investigate the possible ritual uses of psilocybin by indigenous groups in these areas.
The anthropological implications of this work could be massive. But more importantly, this documentation could identify new compounds and practices to benefit people struggling with mental illness in the West. The pharmaceuti
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