Watermelons from the desert
Residents of Lüderitz couldn't believe their eyes when they came across giant, crisp watermelons grown in the desert surrounding the town.The watermelons are part of Kelp Blue's experiment to test its liquid biostimulant Stimplus - which is made 100% from seaweed and promotes growth - in this arid landscape.
Kelp Blue is planting giant seaweed in Shearwater Bay, which grows quickly and then lies on the sea surface. Iriya Jona, biotechnology manager at Kelp Blue in Lüderitz, says that only 10% of this "canopy" is harvested. "Because the seaweed grows so quickly, it is rich in growth hormones and these hormones are what Kelp Blue is really interested in. In the factory, the juice is pressed from the seaweed. The juice goes through a processing process and is then sold to farmers. They spray it on their crops to promote growth. It is a natural product without any chemicals. This is our main product, but we are currently working on finding out what else we can extract from the remaining protein-rich pulp," she said.
Watermelons
An agronomist from Kelp Blue, Michael Mwinga, says they planted on about 300 square metres of watermelons.
"We planted it in September on a small piece of agricultural land at the water processing plant on the way to Agate Beach. This is the area of land we use to test our biostimulants in the field. Here we also test what can grow in the dry and harsh climate of Lüderitz. We harvested 122 watermelons," he said.
Elizabeth Nandjaya, another agronomist at Kelp Blue, said they donated the watermelons to three primary schools in the town. "The Lüderitz Blue School as well as Nautilus and Van Rhyn primary schools received some of the watermelons. The regional councilor's office also received some to hand out to restaurants where Kelp Blue gets their green waste from and that we use on our agricultural land. Of course, all our employees also enjoyed the fruits of their hard work."
Looking ahead
"This year we are experimenting with different crops including potatoes, millet, butternut squash, alfalfa, olives and more. We want to see how effective Stimplus is in promoting the growth of crops in a desert environment with extreme climatic conditions," Mwinga said
Kelp Blue CEO Daniel Hooft added: "We're going to plant figs, sisal, aloe, Kalahari melons, African horned melons (kiwano), Namib myrrh, monkey thorn for Arabic gum, lukwart, limes, sycamores, and more much more plant.
"It is partly agronomic research, partly curiosity about what will work here and partly an attempt to transform a small remote piece of windy desert into a garden of Eden.
"Some of those plants and trees will take decades, perhaps centuries, to reach maturity – reflecting our company's long-term vision. We focus on how to improve the world for our children and grandchildren and their descendants," he said.
"We are sure that with initiatives like this, Kelp Blue will attract great interest to implement farming programs in Lüderitz with the hope of one day creating a sustainable food hub, with reduced or no use of synthetic fertilizers," said Mwinga.
The project aims to involve local community members and is in collaboration with the regional councilor's office, Lüderitz's town council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry.
"In time, hopefully, some economically viable, high-value, low-volume crops will be identified that can contribute to the local economy and promote jobs and people's livelihoods."
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