Food Security for 3,000 Women & Children in Rwanda

A new year has started and Kigali’s Spirulina pools are still shining bright. Brightgreen like Spirulina! Your support of YaLa Africa must have certainly turned you into Spirulina connoisseurs by now. We are sure you know all about its great nutritional properties and why it is such a good tool to fight child malnutrition, but do you know how Spirulina is actually grown? Why our growing method is sustainable and cost-efficient? Let us tell you more about the “Spirulina journey.” 

Traditionally, Spirulina is grown on commercial farms through a method way too expensive for communities or smallholder farmers to use.It is then largely destined to the health food industry, targeting athletes and other health-conscious people, and sold at very high prices.But because we were certain of the potential of this alga to fight malnutrition – as numerous research institutions and even the United Nations point out – in partnership with the NGO, JustSpirulina, we adopted a growing method that is simple, cheap and easy to pass on to others so that this protein-rich food can end up on the plates – free of charge – of those who need it the most: malnourished children.

Our Spirulina grows in a liquid solution made of water, basic fertilizers (that can also be homemade)and…well, that’s it! Once the liquid solution has been prepared and its pH level tested, you only need to stir the growing culture regularly, make sure it gets the necessary sunlight and wait for the Spirulina to multiply. When it is ready to be harvested, the liquid solution is filtered so that only Spirulina remains and it is ready to be consumed fresh in just five minutes. It can also be dried and then mixed in beverages or sprinkled onto food for a highly nutritious meal.

As little as 1-2 grams of Spirulina per day can make you feel its benefits and a single 2.5 x 2.5 meter pool can produce up to 2 kilograms of dried Spirulina per month. Can you imagine the potential yield from the two pools that we set up at our school project site? Not a math fan? That’s okay, we’ll tell you. Thanks to your support, we are able to reach up to 2,000 children per month. Furthermore, thanks to hands-on trainings for youth -who are quick to learn - our Spirulina farming method can spread easily.

But there is more. Our method also makes multiplying Spirulina easy so that once the program’s needs are reached, the surplus can be sold and ensure our micro-farms’ self-sustainability. Step by step, the Spirulina revolution in Rwanda is ongoing!