Backyard Spirulina Cultivation Eradicates Malnutrition

School’s starting again and mothers have a problem with budgeting for proper nutrition what with school expenses.  This diet supplement can answer for the protein, vitamin and mineral requirements of children and it can be cultivated at home or at a community plot using claypots buried in the ground.  Once harvested it can be mixed with noodles as a vegetable and meat substitute and more importantly, its an affordable, community-based, self-help solution to child malnutrition.  It’s a project barangays everywhere can easily implement.

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed and one-third is starving.

Malnutrition haa an even bigger impact on children’s health than was previously thought. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality, present in half of all cases. Underweight births and inter-uterine growth restrictions cause 2.2 million child deaths a year. Poor or non-existent breastfeeding causes another 1.4 million. Other deficiencies, such as lack of vitamin A or zinc, for example, account for 1 million. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malnutrition)

Spirulina is a blue green algae that is a complete protein containing essential amindo acids, vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinamide), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acids), vitamin C, D and E. A one gram tablet could provide more than three times the recommended daily intake of B12.  It is also a rich source of potassium and also contains calcium, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, sodium and zinc.

This blue green algae has been endorsed as early as 1974 by the United Nations World Food Conference as the “best food of the future” and “key driver to eradicate malnutrition, achieve food security and bridge the health divide throughout the world”.

To cultivate spirulina in the backyard, all that is needed are three claypots of 35-40 litre capacity in a 25 square meter open space using bio-gas slurry, 2-3 grams of sea salt or chemical medium consisting of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate, Cooking Soda and Sodium Chloride plus pure spirulina culture.

The three mud pots are buried upto their necks in the ground, filled with water mixed with the medium. Bio-gas slurry is the cheapest nutrient medium for spirulina culture.  A small quantity of pure spirulina is put into the medium. (In the initial stage, the nutrient medium has to be supplied to the producer as stock-solution for ready mixing). The medium has to be stirred 3 to 4 times a day as the spirulina can not grow in a stagnant medium. The pots have to be exposed to sunlight as the spirulina takes 3 to 4 days to mature. The mature spirulina (When the pale medium turns into dark green) can be harvested by a simple cloth-filtration. After washing the spirulina in fresh water (to remove the adhering chemicals), it can be directly mixed with dough, noodles, vegetables etc. (about 2% by weight). Spirulina can be preserved by drying it in the shade. It must be dried immediately to preserve its quality and value. (Source: http://www.daenvis.org/technology/Spirulina.htm)

Even though Spirulina is distantly related to the kelp algae, it is not a sea plant. However, the fresh-water ponds and lakes it favors are notably more alkaline - in the range of 8 to 11 pH than ordinary lakes and cannot sustain any other forms of microorganisms. In addition, Spirulina thrives in very warm waters of 32 to 45 degrees C (approximately 85 to 112 degrees F), and has even survived in temperatures of 60 degrees C (140 degrees F)

Certain desert-adapted species will survive when their pond habitats evaporate in the intense sun, drying to a dormant state on rocks as hot as 70 degrees Centigrade (160 degrees F). In this dormant condition, the naturally blue-green algae turns a frosted white and develops a sweet flavor as its 71 percent protein structure is transformed into polysaccharide sugars by the heat.

Some scientists speculate that the “manna” of the wandering Israelites, which appeared miraculously on rocks following a devastating dry spell and was described as tasting “like wafers made with hone ” may have been a form of dried, dormant Spirulina.

This ability of Spirulina to grow in hot and alkaline environments ensures its hygienic status, as no other organisms can survive to pollute the waters in which this algae thrives. Unlike the stereotypical association of microorganisms with “germs” and “scum”, Spirulina is in fact one of the cleanest, most naturally sterile foods found in nature.

Its adaptation to heat also assures that Spirulina retains its nutritional value when subject to high temperatures during processing and shelf storage, unlike many plant foods that rapidly deteriorate at high temperatures.

Spirulina is also unusual among algae because it is a “nuclear plant” meaning it is on the developmental cusp between plants and animals. It is considered somewhat above plants because it does not have the hard cellulose membranes characteristic of plant cells, nor does it have a well-defined nucleus. Yet its metabolic system is based on photosynthesis, a process of direct food energy production utilizing sunlight and chlorophyll, which is typical of plant life forms.

In essence, Spirulina straddles that fork in evolutionary development when the plant and animal kingdoms differentiated. Thus it embodies the simplest form of life. In contrast, other algae such as Chlorella have developed the hard indigestible walls characteristic of plants.  (Source: http://www.naturalways.com/spirul1.htm)

Thus, the simplest form of life– this unicellular algae, is the solution to malnutrition everywhere.

It is so economical and easy to cultivate that it would also be good for us to consider cultivating commercial quantities of spirulina as organic feed for livestock.

A biogas and windmill powered organic farm cultivating commercial quantities of spirulina for livestock and human consumption continues to be my do-able project for the next half of this year.