Spirulina for Children

Fundraising target: Raise $4,500 by 15th July 2010.

In April 2009, I made a decision to work with Simplicity Farm – an Auroville institution in South India, which specializes in growing spirulina in a fair trade environment – to learn and disseminate the technology for growing Spirulina ‘Superfood’ micronutrient food supplement for poor children in India, in general, and the children of the tribal communities in Eastern India, in particular. The reason is that, whereas there are many social organizations especially in South India doing this laudable work, there are none in Eastern India, that I know of.

I am therefore glad that cMFS has adopted this project in the Group Page at [http://www.giveforward.org/spirulina4schools]. The page provides a compelling reason to support this worthy project, and I have nothing more to add to its laudable objectives. Please see the photos on the current page. I hope and pray that you will agree that this is a worthwhile project and donate liberally, to help the poor children in the Sunderbans of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, to begin with.

I believe the project requires $7,500 to become self-sustainable. For my part, I would like to help to raise $4,500 -- $2,500 to buy the inexpensive tanks and acquire the appropriate technology inputs, and another $2,000 for the consumables and logistics support – so that the project can at least be initiated, within two to three month’s time.

I hope other well-wishers of the project will step in to help raise the balance $3,000 required for full project sustainability.

The total budget of $7,500 for 250 poor school children works out to about $30 per child – a small price to pay for the end to malnutrition for that child, in perpetuity.

Thank you very much for your support.