VII. MAINTENANCE OF THE AREA
Enough men must be employed with this project with a proportion of two to five men per hectare. They will have to clean the area daily. Dirt that cling to the seaweeds must be removed daily. Seaweed eating sea animals like sea urchins, starfishes and other predators, should be remove from the area. Inspection on seaweeds should be done on a daily basis.
At 45 days to a month old, branches of seaweeds start to fall off due to the water current. In order to save them from drifting away, a nylon net should be placed on two sides of the area that are perpendicular to the water current.
VIII. HARVESTING AND DRYING
Once seaweeds are 2 1/2 to 3 months old, start harvesting them. For economy, when harvesting, try to keep one fresh branch as your reserve seedling. However, if no fresh branch can be harvested and put aside, harvest all the seaweeds and replace with new ones. Always use a stainless knife when harvesting.
Use a wooden banca in harvesting seaweeds. Bring the harvest to the farm house drying station. To make it easier, use bamboo baskets. Usually, the time needed in fully drying seaweeds during sunny days is two to three days, while on cloudy days about five days. If the space in the farm house is limited, then put the dried seaweeds into sacks and transport.
The initial planting is costly because seedlings are bought and much transportation cost is involved. However, in the succeeding plantings, the cost would be much lower because nylon lines will no longer be bought, so with the posts and seedlings plus the transport cost. Normally, posts should be changed every year and nylon line every two years.
PACKAGING
Fresh seaweeds, such as Caulerpa, Gracilaria and Codium which are intended for the local market are first thoroughly rinsed in clean seawater to remove mud and dirt. Sorting is also done to remove the weed species mixed with them. Packaging is an important post harvest activity which determines the shelf life of the seaweed.
Baskets made of bamboo are generally used as containers. The inner surface of each basket should be lined with gunny sack. Several layers of fresh or dried banana leaves or fresh seaweeds, such as Ulva or Sargassum should be placed over the bottom and along the sides of the basket. The basket is then filled with dean, fresh seaweeds. A topping of fresh seaweeds or banana leaves is then placed over the seaweeds, then the basket is finally covered with gunny sack which is secured by lacing it to the basket with tying materials.
Exposure to the sun or heat during transport should be avoided to Insure the freshness of the produce. Seaweeds intended for food sold in local markets in dried form are first soaked in freshwater before consumption.
PRODUCTS FROM SEAWEEDS
New products from seaweeds were developed by the Marine Bio-Organic Group of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. Three of products are now being patented, while other seaweed-based food, fertilizer and personal-use products are now ready for commercialization.
1. Seaweed-based air freshener gel (Seamoy). This is a low-cost air freshener with a gel-like texture. It makes use of sweet floral scents that give a clean, fresh smell to rooms, cars,
lockers’ and cabinets.
Whole seaweeds are used in its manufacture (instead of po!ysaccharide extracts) making production cost low. Since the base aliows a siow .release of the essence, sheif life is prolonged. Unlike crystal air fresheners in the market, Seamoy can easily be divided into desired shapes and sizes for easier packing and use.
2. Fruit-flavored candy-gels (fruity cubes). These are jelly candies that are gummy-textured and come in different colors. Their flavors can be enjoyed by people of all ages. These are easy to manufacture and production cost is low. The polysaccharide used enhances the gummy texture better than gelatin.
3. Pastilles (Euginto). These are made from polysaccharides derived from seaweeds and local throat soothing substances. The manufacturing process is simple. The gummy texture is similar to that of imported pastilles. The materials used are locally available and the production cost is low.
4. Menthol ointment (Ginhawa). This is a non-greasy, soothing ointment that uses polysaccharides as a base for substances, such as menthol and camphor. The polysaccharides used can replace the greater percentage of the usual compounds used as ointment bases. Thus, the formulation not only reduces the adverse effects between excipients, it also reduces possible allergic reactions of the user to the compounds. Production cost is similarly low.
5. Seaweed-based fertilizer (Algro). These are fertilizers that use the by-products of seaweeds processing. These fertilizers contain growth-promoting hormones and are fortified with nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) needed by plants.
The production process involves the use of pre-treatment wastes in agar/carrageenan production (or the slightly basic extract of old or enzyme-degraded brown seaweeds); waste that would otherwise be discarded. Water soluble, these fertilizers use only natural components that do not harm the soil.
6. Suppository base. This is a modification of the common suppository base formulations. It uses natural products, with carrageenan as the emulsifier and binder in place of gelatin. Once molded, it requires little refrigeration to retain its shape. It does not easily melt even at room temperature. Melting time at body temperature is comparable to that of gelatin suppositories.
7. Skinless longganisa (Longsarap/Carraniza). This is a high-fiber native sausage that contains refined and semi-refined carrageenan as a fat substitute. It allows the substitution of vegetable protein for an equal amount of pork meat. The product reduces the consumer’s calorie intake and it is highly recommended for people on a low-fat diet.
8. High-fiber pandesal (Pan de lusog/Pan de Carr). This pandesal contains refined and semi-refined carrageenans that has a higher fiber content and longer shelf-life than ordinary pandesal. Its high fiber content is an aid to diabetic who wants to maintain a blood glucose level.
9. Liquid soap/shampoo (Halimuyak/Humot). This is a shampoo base prepared from biodegradable substances and seaweed polysaccharides. The seaweed polysaccharide as a viscosity enhancer that gives better body to the finished product.
By reducing the use of synthetic soap bases and using seaweeds instead, production cost is reduced. In addition, seaweed use poses no danger to the environment when disposed while providing the user with the usual cleansing effect of ordinary soap. The new products from seaweeds are the result of the transformation of research into useful, potentially profitable goods and commodities.
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