Stickers for bags
For many years, Volontariat has become aware of the exceptional properties of Spirulina for curing many diseases, including malnutrition, anemia and malnutrition, restore or enhance the health of children and adults of all ages.
Also, very early, Spirulina was incorporated, whenever possible, in the lunch of the sponsored children. Similarly, aged people consume Amaidhi Illam also as supplements to their usual meals. Today, a glass of lemon juice with Spirulina replaces the usual tea and is increasingly accepted by all.
In the 80’s, the only source of Spirulina, near Pondicherry, was at Auroville where it was cultivated in two places. Then we got it through Father Shanti who started a Spirulina farm, next to the Fraternity of Charles de Foucauld in Alampoondi, 100 km from Pondicherry.
Now we produce it since the beginning of 2009 ...
Read the file on the site of this algae, giving the history of its discovery, its composition and its medical properties.
Also is presented the sticker Label which accompanies or is applied to each bag of Spirulina, given or offered for sale.
The literature on Spirulina is very abundant, so if you want more general information on the micro algae, we advise you to go on the internet.
Some recent photos of SPRTTK program are shown in ACTU and NEWS of this site.
Starting Spirulina Programme SPIRTTK
For years, Volontariat was consuming Spirulina, but did not produce. Yet Touttipakkam farm had everything to start: available land, water, climate suitable, close to Auroville farm,
a significant market for its own consumption, etc. But for a realization of this project, we still need the combination of other essential parameters: who will carry on the project? Who will take care of the production? What source of finance? To have a cost-effective program, the project needs to have a minimum size, a part of the spirulina produced being sold, out of Volontariat, for a sustainable development.
The chance of Volontariat was to meet Jean-François Deleval, then an engineer at Gaz de France and volunteer at the French NGOs Codegaz and Chain of Hope. At that time, Volontariat wanted to start a collaboration with Chain of Hope to go on with its program of heart surgery on children, with the team of Prof. Balakrishnan. It was in 2007.
Mr Deleval participated in the negociations with Volontariat and an agreement was signed at Pondicherry in January 2007 with Chain of Hope and the Surgeon. In addition, he proposed to start a farm of spirulina at farm TTK: SPRTTK the project.
A project file was made for an area of 50 m2, to be extended later to 250 m2 and an agreement signed between Volontariat and Codegaz, represented by Mr Deleval.
The team of Volontariat, assisted by several volunteers coming to the farm in 2007-08, refined the project, defined the place to be dedicated to the project, made the plans, established the construction and operating budgets, contacted suppliers, selected a contractor.
The second chance of Volontariat who was searching for the person who will manage the production, was the person of Mr Premanand. Prem, as we nicknamed, was engaged by Atelier Shanti at TTK to start a small unit of natural dyeing in order to diversify its production. He had also a good knowledge of the culture of spirulina when he was working with the Father Shanti at Alampoondi to start his farm. Today Prem leads a team of 2-3 workers who daily harvest the algae and for all the matter concerned with Sprttk program.
Some key dates for this program:
Contract signed in February 2008 with the contractor for the construction of three small ponds, a production tank of 50 m2 C1 and a technical room of 30 m2.
December 2008, cultivation of the basin C1 and the first harvest in January 2009.
Contract signed in March 2009 with the same contractor for the construction of three more tanks: 50 m2 C2, C3 and C4 of 75 m2.
In November 2009, the local and dryer are being put on service.
Late 2009 and early 2010, the basins C2, C3 and C4 are successively seeded with spirulina and come into production.
April 2010, the crop, simultaneously in the four tanks, required duplication of equipment, we had to make two more presses, buy another pump, order a second dryer, etc..
The ponds were sown with a “mother” spirulina from Simplicity of Auroville. That one, according to the paper presenting this farm, is the Indian strain Lonar, provided by Antenna Trust in Madurai. This strain itself comes, originally, from a natural lake in the area of Mumbai, now dry, but a sample was retained by Antenna Technologies, Geneva.
Jean-François and Jean-Claude, a specialist in Spirulina, have conducted several missions to TTK, forming Prem to the technique used (slightly different from Alampoondi). They follow the evolution of the program on a daily basis: we send over the Internet the various parameters (temperature, pH, "siqui", agitation speed, mass of wet and dry spiruline for each tank, etc.). That enables them to appreciate the evolution of the culture in each basin and change one or more parameters, if necessary.
September 2011: 2 of the 4 tanks are actually dry, for repairs and maintenance: replacement of agitation systems,
cleaning of tanks, rubbing metallic frame of the plastic roofs, replacement of these roofs by “terpaulains”, etc. Our current production, about 25 to 30 kg monthly, is already in surplus compare to consumption in the different sections of Volontariat. We search for local market and simultaneously we are looking for a testing laboratory recognized by the Indian government for an official export of Spirulina SPIRTTK.
