Spirulina as a force for good
As mentioned many times, building our business in Ghana was not just a coincidence. Besides the climate being perfect for spirulina production, we aim to make a positive impact locally in two ways: creating (youth) employment and fighting malnutrition. Since spirulina is considered to be one of the most nutrient-dense organisms on earth, from the beginning onwards we focused on finding a way to use spirulina as a force for good. But how big is the malnutrition problem exactly? And is it possible to fight this problem with spirulina?
In Ghana, malnutrition sadly is a big problem, with almost one in five children under five years being stunted and one in ten children under five years being underweight. Over half of the children between six months and two years are not eating the food that supports their developing bodies and brains enough. The numbers mentioned are sourced from a 2019 UNICEF report. In 2019, Ghana had the world's fastest-growing economy. However, the country is currently experiencing a severe financial crisis, with inflation rates reaching over 50 percent in 2022. This inflation leads to rising costs of living for Ghanaians, with food prices being doubled. Although exact numbers are hard to find, the United Nations has warned for a food crisis in West and Central Africa due to these increased prices. Especially at a young age, consequences of malnutrition can be big and long lasting, with a serious impact on physical and intellectual development. This can result in a vicious cycle of poor health, lower learning capacity and subsequently fewer economic opportunities.
One of the most effective ways to tackle malnutrition is through school feeding programs. In these programs the focus should be on supplying meals with a variety of different ingredients. A proven method to fight malnutrition is the usage of spirulina due to its high amount of protein (>60%), vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. We are not the first organization utilizing spirulina to fight malnutrition. In Burkina Faso, the Spiruline Nayalgue project was set up to support children, women, and people affected by HIV. Another organization that saw the potential of spirulina is Antenna France. They have been using spirulina for over fifteen years to fight malnutrition in Africa and Asia. These are just two examples showing the great potential, especially considering that its production is relatively easy and uses >90% less water and land resources compared to other protein sources such as meat and soy.
At Chalé Spirulina, we are currently building our first commercial production facility, which will be finished by the end of September. Besides exports, we will also start processing 10% of our production output into local school meals. We already partnered with a local school in Apromase - the community where our first facility is located - and ran some small tests with spirulina. The reactions so far have been very positive. Other schools have already reached out to also be part of the program when we expand our operations. By supporting the schools in and around the community where we are operating, we aim to increase our local positive impact parallel to our growth. At Chalé Spirulina, we truly believe that our spirulina will contribute to a more complete and healthy diet of school children.
