For four years now, the Novotel Bangkok hotel has been quietly renting its unused 80 square metres of rooftop space for a small fee to a small Thai startup called EnerGaia, and watching on as the greenish-blue, protein-rich edible microalgae grew and grew. This rooftop 'superfood farm' is one of three projects of EnerGaia: it runs a bigger spirulina farm in another of Bangkok's 'wasted spaces' – a concrete parking lot on Bang Krachao, the jungle-covered island in the middle of the Chao Praya river. There is also a rooftop farm at the company's headquarters further out in the eastern suburb of Suanluang, along with a research and development centre, offices and a fully equipped laboratory where the algae is both cultured and packaged after harvest.
Growing spirulina is a quick process: the micro organisms are single-cell plants that can double their mass every 48 hours without any soil or fertilisers. They grow as fast as bacteria but can also photosynthesise.
The EnerGaia team are currently collecting about 50kg of spirulina a week, harvesting the product with a simple mesh cloth, although at full capacity they estimate they would be able to harvest 300kg a week. Back at the company's laboratory, they test, dry and package the fresh algae into jars that are sold under the Skyline Spirulina brand. These are stocked in health food stores around Bangkok, but there is also a steady list of consumers who buy directly from the source.
"In terms of branding it's been tremendous. We've been covered around the world in newspapers, magazines and documentaries. It's a very, very easy exercise... [EnerGaia technicians] come in the morning to harvest and are gone three hours later. They pay for water and electricity, and we charge a very minimal rental fee of around $10-20 to show the owners that we do collect something – but this isn't about making money. It's more of a friendship that has a positive impact on our brand," says General manager Manuel Reymondin.
