In his “Spirulina Voices” video series, Robert Henrikson travels the world to understand how spirulina is grown in other cultures.
Spirulina expert and former president of Earthrise Spirulina, Robert Henrikson, has released a series of 20 videos covering two decades of his research on spirulina producers across the globe. In “Spirulina Voices,” algae microfarmers, from Mexico to Myanmar, present tours of their farms and products, and share their views on the future of their product.
Early village-scale spirulina farms began in Asia and Africa, inspiring the first micro-farmers in France to grow their crop in greenhouses. About twenty years ago, these French spirulina pioneers began selling innovative products in their local regions. Their successes have since launched more than 100 microfarmers across France and an association of producers.
Much has happened in the spirulina world over the past 40 years. Of all the microscopic algae, spirulina has become the most popular and the most widely produced. Spirulina is now sold in powder, tablets, and capsules as a food supplement, and is a potent ingredient in nutraceuticals, snacks, foods, and beverages. Many local microfarmers are offering fresh and frozen products to their customers direct from the farm. The blue pigment in spirulina — phycocyanin — is now a desirable natural blue food color. The home-grown spirulina movement has become popular and affordable.
“Spirulina Voices” examines this microfarm phenomenon and demonstrates scaling up from home to backyard to rooftop to commercial greenhouses.
Mr. Henrikson is CEO of Smart Microfarms, which develops scalable microalgae systems for urban, vertical, and rooftop farms, and algae food products that are local and sustainable. A pioneer in algae production and marketing, he was a founder and president of Earthrise Farms, the world’s largest spirulina algae farm, where he promoted Earthrise® Spirulina and green superfoods in 30 countries.
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