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A natural product which began development
in a Bangkok test tube in 1987 is now grown in 15,000 square metres of
ponds near Sanpatong and exported all over the world. David Hardy went:
DOWN ON THE FARM
"Perhaps one of the reasons we have been successful is that
we had no plan at all to start a business" laughs Khun Jiamjit Boonsom,
Research Director of Chiangmai's only Spirulina
farm. So how did it all begin?
"As a newly qualified biologist surveying bio-diversity in micro-organisms
I applied to the Department of Fisheries" recalls the scientist-turned-businesswoman.
"In 1981 I was the only woman there and the men were only interested
in fish. 'Let the girl look through the microscope' they said! I found
it by happy accident. Maybe God assigned me to do this? I didn't know how
special it was!
I sent my first sample to an elderly aunt who was a diabetic. But it
was uneven in shape, dark green in colour and she didn't like the smell
- so she refused to take it. So we made it into a capsule and it looked
like western medicine - so she took it. Three days later she called wanting
some more. 'I've got my strength back' she said!"
Spirulina Farm, Maewang,
near Sanpatong, welcomes visitors
The Prime Minister at the time, Prem Tinsulanonda, classified areas
with very poor, salty soil, all in the north east, and assigned the Ministry
of Agriculture to find suitable plants and animals for them. I wrote up
my project and applied for a budget. It was accepted ahead of many hundreds
of others!
From the test tube the project moved to a 3 square metre pond in Bangkok
and we rapidly ran out of space. Then we created a 100 square metre temporary
pond out of plastic at the back of my sister's property and the whole project
really began to work. But a new building went up nearby and shielded the
sunlight which is essential to algae growth.
We needed a big area, clean air, good water quality and of course good
staff. So in 1987 we looked at this land which we had actually bought for
our retirement. It used to be full of mango trees because my husband, Khun
Boonsom, loves to plant! The porous rock underneath gives very good quality
water - we had it tested of course - so this was the obvious site.
My husband is an engineer and one of our big advantages is that he has
been able to make or find everything we ever needed He invented all our
drying equipment and saved a great deal of expenditure. Now we have 36
culture ponds totalling 15,000 square metres and over 120 staff.
The algae must be fresh. The production of each batch takes 4 months
and we must avoid contamination. The older algae goes to make dog food."
Where now?
The city retail outlet
in Wiangkaew Road
The company that has sold only one product for 15 years - and only recently
started advertising - has seen demand out-grow even this large site. "We
cannot expand any further here now as the land prices have gone up so much.
It used to be 130,000 baht per rai and now they want 500,000," says
Khun Jiamjit sadly. So how to meet the demand? Spirulina comes full circle
- it's back to the north east when a second facility opens soon in Isaan.
And what are the remaining challenges here in Chiangmai?
"We are very concerned about contamination from heavy metals"
says Khun Jiamjit frankly. "We buy in some nutrients and must take
care of every batch. Other producers are not biologists or scientists so
cannot be aware of all the hazards. For example we provide all our workers
with clothes and wash them here ourselves!
Recently we had very heavy late rains and the pollution they brought
over from the Lamphun industrial area diluted a lot of the alkaline content
in the ponds."
There are specific advantages in spirulina for mothers-to-be, ground
up GD-1 tablets in milk for toddlers
is strongly recommended, rising through 4 tablets a day for young adults
and maybe 6 for older folk. Spirulina has a great deal to offer at low
cost, but in the words of the old song, "It ain't what you do, it's
the way that you do it!" If Khun Jiamjit's diabetic aunt hadn't rejected
the odd-smelling dark green substance all those years ago, showing up the
necessity of packaging - well - Boonsom's Spirulina Farm may never have
happened and she and her husband may still have been planning a simple
retirement under the mango trees!
 David
Hardy
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