Israeli spirulina project benefitting Rwanda

July 26, 2015
AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

Students display their spirulina project at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 10, 2015. Photo by Nurit Canetti

urit Canetti writes in Israeli Pulse that Rwandan agronomists are on a one-year visit to Israel to study various aspects of Israeli agriculture firsthand. Primarily they are studying techniques developed by Israeli students for fast, cheap and simple cultivation of the microalgae superfood spirulina.

“We learned how to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers, but that won’t do us much good,” said Jacques Tuyishime, who lives in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. “The project of growing spirulina will help us address an acute problem in our country, where about 45% of the population lives below the poverty line, and five have been hampered by malnutrition. The government is building centers where children are being fed because they don’t get adequate nutrition at home,” he explained.

The spirulina project is overseen by a group of dedicated students at a north Tel Aviv, Israel high school. About three years ago, during a philosophy class with the school’s headmaster, Zeev Degani, there was a discussion about world hunger. In its wake, the students decided to look for solutions that would allow them – fortunate students from Tel Aviv – to help their peers who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. In the course of their research, the students were exposed to a variety of algae until they zoomed in on spirulina.

“The United Nations declared this algae to be the ultimate solution to world hunger,” Degani told Al-Monitor. “The fresh spirulina algae has no taste, so you can just eat it with a piece of bread or on its own. It contains protein, omega-3, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.”

The students were divided into groups and worked on how to cultivate it efficiently but without compromising its beneficial properties. “It was important for us to find a way to grow it under primitive conditions without having to resort to technologies that might not be found in the countries where the algae is needed – for example, additives.”

To produce magnesium, which is needed to speed up the process of growing the algae, the students buried nails and metal stakes in the ground, doused them with water and then scraped off the rust. They produced the required sulfate from sun-dried banana and mango peels.

“We keep coming up with more and more ideas on how to grow spirulina in places where there is no electricity or running water. Edible algae can be produced in two to three weeks and it multiplies itself within two to four days. Five to 10 grams of spirulina is an ideal solution for a child,” Degani said.

The school project is not limited to growing the algae, but is also devoted to imparting the knowledge to do it. “The project is predicated on studying and teaching. I pass on the information, provided that the person receiving it shares it with others. Once the student has someone to teach, he knows more,” said Degani.