A 1,200-year-old algae harvesting tradition is becoming a blueprint for climate resilience and economic empowerment. In Chad, spirulina, a blue-green algae has been harvested by local women for over a millennium now represents a new model for how international climate finance can work from the bottom up.
In the Lake Chad region, women have been harvesting spirulina since time immemorial. This protein-rich superfood grows naturally in only two places on Earth, here in Chad and in parts of Mexico. Yet while Mexico has developed a thriving spirulina export industry, Chad's traditional harvesters have watched a decline as climate change and upstream development have shrunk the lake.
Spirulina represents everything that modern climate finance aspires to be. It builds on traditional knowledge, empowers women, addresses multiple crises simultaneously, and has clear market potential. Chad faces pressures on both its western border the Lake Chad crisis, and eastern border the refugee crisis, creating a perfect storm that requires innovative solutions.
From Subsistence to Global Markets
The vision is ambitious but achievable. By combining traditional harvesting knowledge with modern processing techniques, Chad could tap into the growing global market for spirulina—a market worth an estimated $70-100 billion that remains largely unstructured and ripe for disruption.
"This could be an opportunity to address those two crises and at the same time export spirulina to international markets," Seyni Nafo, Co-Chair of the Green Climate Fund explains. The plan involves supporting existing women harvesters while training refugees in modern cultivation techniques, creating an integrated value chain that extends from Lake Chad to health food stores.
