The Story of Spirulina
3.5 billion years ago
Before plants, before animals, before any form of earthly life – spirulina was already there.
In the fresh waters of a still inhospitable planet, this microscopic cyanobacterium was accomplishing something essential: photosynthesis. It captured solar energy, consumed the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and released oxygen. Little by little, the planet's air became breathable. Other species were able to appear. Life left the water to colonise dry land.
Spirulina did not yet feed humans. It made their existence possible.
Scientists call it Arthrospira platensis. It measures 0.3 mm, invisible to the naked eye. Its shape is spiralled – a small spring of intense green, which comes from its chlorophyll, and deep blue from phycocyanin. It is this blue pigment that gave it its name: «cyano», as in cyan.
A traditional food, long before laboratories
The Aztecs of Mexico harvested it from Lake Texcoco using fine-mesh nets. Sun-dried, it became green cakes called tecuitlatl – consumed daily, sold at market, and incorporated into the staple diet.
The runners of the Aztec empire carried these cakes on long distances. They covered hundreds of kilometres to supply the emperor with fresh fish. Spirulina was their fuel.
Further on, on the shores of Lake Chad, the Kanembu people have been harvesting from the lake for generations. Every morning, women collect fresh spirulina from the surface of the lake, make it into cakes, and incorporate it into all their dishes. A dietary practice that has lasted for centuries, without interruption.
The pink flamingos and dissemination
In Lake Texcoco and other alkaline bodies of water around the world, thousands of flamingos dip their beaks to filter spirulina. It is the beta-carotene it contains – one of its many pigments – that gives them their characteristic colour. These migratory birds have helped spread the cyanobacteria from one lake to another, across continents.
Today, spirulina grows naturally in a few warm (20 to 40°C), alkaline, and mineral-rich freshwater lakes: in India, Africa, Burma, and South America. And in France, a lagoon in the Camargue still hosts this spiralled cyanobacterium.
The Western rediscovery
In the 1960s, a Belgian botanist noticed some green patties at a market in Chad. He took a sample from Lake Chad, and analysis revealed what the Kanembou people had always known without ever putting it into words: 60 to 70 per cent protein, all the essential amino acids, and a nutritional concentration unrivalled in the living world.
From industry to artisanal farms
In the 1980s, the first industrial farms emerged in the United States, Mexico, and then India, China, and Hawaii. Hectares of ponds, large-scale production, high-temperature spray drying.
Then another model is emerging, albeit more slowly. Small-scale farms — run by one or two people, with ponds ranging from 150 to 1,000 m², producing between 100 and 1,500 kg per year. In France, 95% of these are located in the south, where the climate is warmer and there is more sunshine.
At Akal, we've been cultivating in Normandy since 2010 – in 1,000 m² of tanks in Pays d’Auge. No guaranteed sunshine, but an approach built over 16 years: deep tanks that retain residual heat, drying below 42°C, organic Ecocert certification obtained in 2014 – a first in France – and what we call sensitive permaculture. Spirulina as a living organism, not a raw material.
The spirulina farm opens its doors to you
1h30 of guided tour offered in the heart of the Bouquetot eco-domain, a jewel of the Pays d'Auge, 3km from the Côte Fleurie.
Discover our facilities, the history of spirulina, how it's harvested, its benefits — and observe it under a microscope.
The visit concludes with a Farm produce tasting with the producer or the team, who will answer all your questions and advise you according to your needs.
You will leave impressed.
Viewings available, no booking required, children welcome.
From 11 April to 1 November — Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday
and every day during the school holidays zones B & C. Always At 11 a.m.
