The Scottish seaweed farming community has the potential to create a new model for sustainable aquaculture. The emerging industry can show how it is possible to regenerate the marine environment AND rebuild a lost local economy.
High-quality seaweed has the potential to be farmed in abundance in the pristine waters off of Scotland’s west coast. There is already significant global demand for seaweed's use in a number of sectors – from food to medicine to bioplastics – and seaweed farming is the world’s fastest growing aquaculture sector.
But it must be processed within hours of being harvested to retain its quality and nutritional value.
Independent seaweed farmers on the west coast can currently only harvest and process small quantities due to the lack of processing facilities.
With your help, our project Eco Cascade CIC will create and staff a central community processing centre, finding the most energy efficient and effective ways of preparing seaweed – to help farmers to reach new markets.
How will it work?
Eco Cascade is a new Community Interest Company (CIC) based at the Kyle of Lochalsh on the west coast of Scotland.
We have recently secured an exciting grant from Marine Fund Scotland: https://www.thenational.scot/news/23158504.grant-set-kickstart-revival-scottish-seaweed-trade. This means we will soon be setting up seaweed washing and drying facilities at Kyle, for farmers to use straight after harvesting their crops.
They will be able to process their crop at scale, to the specifications set by local, national or global markets – from fresh wet and frozen to dried and milled – for a nominal fee (helping local producers hold on to the maximum value from their crops).
BUT we need more money to recruit and train staff from the local community with the skills to work on specialist processing throughout the year.
We also need to buy specialist equipment for high quality food-grade production and packaging.
Your support will help us achieve all of this more quickly – in time for the April 2023 harvests.
This Crowdfunder will help seaweed farmers expand their sales to different markets, unlocking the potential of Scotland’s high-quality seaweed production – as well as enriching the ocean environment along the Scottish coast.
“We cannot pursue buyers with confidence until we know processing is in place. We have a total farm capacity of around 60 tonnes but are currently only working the site at 10% capacity due to lack of processing equipment. I believe that access to processing space at Eco Cascade will help us scale the business and access new markets.” – Dr Kyla Orr, KelpCrofting seaweed farm
Why seaweed is good for people and planet
Seaweed grows quickly, flourishing without the need for land, fresh water, pesticides or fertiliser.
It has many diverse applications across food, cosmetics, medicine, agriculture and more. Seaweed is incredibly rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, providing many nutrients not often found in other plant products – like iodine, vitamin D and B12 – as well as being a low-calorie source of protein.
It’s already used in creating bioplastics and textiles, with potential use in biofuels too. In agriculture, it opens up huge opportunities as a natural fertiliser to reduce chemical use: it can help alleviate pressure on land use by shifting cultivation to the sea, and can even reduce methane emissions from cattle as a source of animal feed.
There’s currently a huge unmet demand for seaweed, with most of the global supply coming from Asia. Seaweed cultivation at scale elsewhere in the world is in its infancy. Our processing services will help to meet the growing demand for high quality, traceable seaweeds.
Scaled-up seaweed farming in Scotland will provide new job opportunities, as well as absorbing excess nitrogen, protecting mussels (a valuable local industry), improving biodiversity through the creation of habitats for animals, and mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration.
How you can help
You can support an independent farming community to grow and thrive, leading to new income streams for coastal communities and returning jobs to a seaweed farming industry that once supported as many as 40,000 people in the 19th century.
Your support means we can:
- Recruit and train staff from the local rural community
- Buy specialist equipment for production and packaging
- Encourage more seaweed farmers to the sector
- Catalyse Scotland’s fledgling seaweed cultivation industry to expand and access local, national and global markets
- Make Scottish seaweed a premium, traceable, positive impact product that can support communities to thrive
About Eco Cascade CIC
We are a social enterprise with ambitious plans for processing seaweed grown on the west coast of Scotland, founded by Alison Baker and Dr Cait Murray-Green.
Farming seaweed is labour intensive, and seaweed needs to be processed within hours of harvest. But primary processing is a costly barrier to entry for most farmers.
By providing a suite of processing options on a not-for-profit basis to the community of seaweed farmers, we can transform the potential of the local seaweed industry into a commercial reality.
We want the Scottish seaweed industry – and it's local communities – to thrive. So that Scottish seaweed can stand out as a versatile and premium product and be a model of sustainability.