Harvest of Arthrospira platensis from Lake Kossorom (Chad) and its household usage among the Kanembu

In 1997 a survey was conducted among the Kanembu whoharvest Arthrospira (Spirulina) from LakeKossorom in the Prefecture of Lac (Chad). Informationon the amount of Arthrospira harvested and thepreparation and use of dihé was obtained byinterviewing the women who daily gather around thelake for the harvesting. Dihé is obtained byfiltering and sun drying the algal biomass on thesandy shores of the lake. The semi-dried dihé is then cut into small squares and taken tothe villages, where the drying is completed on mats inthe sun. Dihé is mainly used to prepare la souce, a kind of fish or meat and vegetable broth.Part of the harvest is sold to local consumers or towholesalers, who trade the product in the markets ofMassakori, Massaquet and N'Djamena and also across theborder of the country. The local trading valueof the dihé annually harvested from LakeKossorom (about 40 t) amounts to more than US$100,000, which represents an important contributionto the economy of the area.