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Spirulina is an aquatic micro-organism often referred to as an algae, though it more closely resembles bacteria. It is used as a food supplement to combat malnutrition. 1 gram of spirulina is said to be as nutritious as 100g of spinach or carrots, and is cheaper. It has an extremely high protein content, with 60-70% of its dry weight consisting of a balanced mix of various essential amino acids. Further it is very rich in beta carotene (to produce vitamin A), iron, vitamin B12, ganna-linolenic acid and other micronutrients. It has no cell wall and is therefore very easy to digest.

It improves physical growth as well as cognitive development. It also improves immunity, and therefore helps in fighting and preventing HIV/AIDS and anaemia. Studies show it is also effective against arsenic poisoning, a condition which is extremely hard to combat.

It can be consumed directly as the paste which is harvested or dried. This is highly useful for cheap, local distribution in rural areas. Further it is also suitable to be produced industrially for the middle class. This is in the form of pills sold in pharmacies or combined with various food products such as rice, milk products, energy bars, candy, noodles, etc.

Spirulina was rediscovered during a European scientific mission in Chad, as a traditional food of the locals called dihé. It was a blue-green, dried cake made of a micro-organism which grew in the natural alkaline lagoons found in this region.

- Decentralized production means women need to be trained to produce, use technology, etc. <br> - They also need to be aided in marketing their product and managing a business. <br> - They also need to be aided in marketing their product and managing a business. <br> - Initially more expensive cumbersome to implement than food fortification programmes. <br> - To cover initial investment, subsidies may still be required. <br> - Cooking destroys the vitamins and nutrients in Spirulina – so cannot be combined with all foods <br> - Does not combat iodine or folic acid deficiency}}

Large Scale: If produced industrially: In green houses, large water tanks (raceway ponds), water, fertilizer, pump/ paddle wheel to move it.

* Extruder, dryer

* Air compressor, such as aquarium ones.

A concentrated spirulina culture is then used to seed the pond containing culture medium. This can be obtained from culture floating on an existing pond, or recently harvested. This is mixed into the culture medium and allowed to grow. It should be regularly agitated using an electric pump or by stirring manually. The temperature, pH and concentration of algae should be monitored. Once the concentration increases to about 0.5g/L (use a Secchi disk to measure) it must be harvested. This can be done by simply filtering it through a cloth to obtain a “biomass” of about 10% dry matter per litre. The biomass obtained is then pressed in a cloth to produce a kind of cake. The culture medium can then be reused, by adding any of the ingredients which were used up by the Spirulina.

Spirulina is most nutritious in its wet form. However this lasts at most for a few days if refrigerated, and only a few hours at room temperature. Hence if it needs to be transported or stored it must be dried. If dried and packaged well it can be stored for at least a year without losing nutritional value. However if dried it acquires an unpleasant smell and taste, and is inconvenient to use. It can then also be combined with various other food products or simply packaged on its own.

The production of Spirulina requires manufacturing of a tank. The size of this depends on the scale of production, and the number of tanks. 1 tank of 18m2 produces approximately 150g of Spirulina per day.

Build up the walls, approximately 30cm high with packed earth, bricks or planks. The material to be used depends on the weather conditions, and presence of rodents, termites etc. Cover the sides and the bottom with one polyethylene sheet. Create a temporary compartment (200L) to produce Spirulina needed to seed the whole tank. Reinforce the walls with metal/bamboo frames and cover with a second plastic sheet.

==Costs==

==Country Experiences==

[[Image:distributing_spirulina_chikkies.jpg|thumb|right|150px|distributing spirulina chikkies]]

Spirulina programs are currently being implemented in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, India, and Vietnam.

They pack the Spirulina in dry form of 2 gram sachets and sold to two local NGOs. The Spirulina is also combined with millet, jaggery, and sesame to produce “chikki” a type of energy bar to feed 2000 children per day from slums in the neighborhood. At this scale of production, the facility is extremely efficient, and produces at a cost of 0.01 euro per child per day. They currently do not sell in the open market, as this requires more management and marketing skills, however this is being worked on.

* English summary: http://www.antenna.ch/en/documents/Jourdan_UK.pdf

* French Full version: http://www.antenna.ch/documents/manuelJourdan2061.pdf

* Antenna Technologies – malnutrition and spirulina - http://www.antenna.ch/en/malnutrition/introduction.html

* More detailed documents - http://www.antenna.ch/en/malnutrition/documents.html