Small but powerful, a superfood

The difficulty of a balanced diet should be known to most people. One of the most important nutrients for good physical development is protein. But how can this be ensured? This is where the superfood Spirulina comes into the picture.

Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae which has a high content of nutrients and antioxidants. It is also considered a superfood because it contains high levels of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Around 61% of Protein! But not only that, but Spirulina also has anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. Maybe you have already seen it in powder or tablet form.

Spirulina is a freshwater and saltwater algae that is found in warm, alkaline lakes and ponds around the world. For the water it thrives in, the Spirulina requires an ideal ph-level between 8 and 11. The Spirulina thrives well in such highly alkaline water, although no other microorganisms can grow there. Its’ home is in the tropical and subtropical regions, like Asia and South America. The ideal temperature ranges from 30°C to 35°C. When the water temperature falls below 20°C for a longer period of time the Spirulina dies. It is actually capable of tolerating low temperatures of 15°C during nights and 40°C for a few hours in daytime.

So all the external factors seem to fit super with our location here, don’t they? Yes, they are and we want to take advantage of this opportunity.  

So the reasons why we grow Spirulina are:

1. The super high protein and nutrient content contributes to a rich diet.

2. Once you have the cultivation and all the factors figured out, growing is comparatively easy and very productive.

3. Not only can we contribute to our community, but also share our knowledge with other families and children and actively do something about malnutrition.

In fact, we have already started growing Spirulina once. That was last year, you can read more about the project here:

https://protovillage.org/2022/11/24/4-days-5-projects-40-students/: Small but powerful, a superfood

Unfortunately, the Spirulina died after a few days. It was probably due to the unsuitable composition of the water quality.

One aspect that should also be noted is that we grow the Spirulina 100% naturally and do not use any chemicals, as is usually the case. Natural cultivation has not yet received as much attention in the industry and on the internet, which is why the information on organic Spirulina cultivation is somewhat sparse. But now we have dealt with the whole issue again, prepared the “food” for the Spirulina again, redone the calculations, prepared the location again, and got everything ready for the new cultivation. We got the necessary Spirulina mother culture from a Spirulina farmer in Kurnool.

So in mid-June, we were able to start cultivating Spirulina again. We have two tanks that hold 200 liters of water and a small bucket. So far our Spirulina is thriving, but it’s a constant learning process and we are still figuring out which settings are best. I will give an update here in this post soon.