Looking down into the waters you see a patchwork of cultivated seaweed plots.
Viewing this picture you can see the workers harvesting the seaweed at low tide which to us was amazing because the water receded 200 yards or more where there was once several feet of water.
On the island 85% of the 5,000 inhabitants work at farming seaweed for carrageenan (as opposed to 5% in tourism). It's the island's major industry. The returns are low, 2,500 Rp (27 cents) for one kilo of white seaweed; 8,000 Rp (87 cents) for one kilo of green seaweed.
As we drove and walked through the villages we saw - and smelled - the vast areas used for drying seaweed. Small pieces of a marine algae are attached to strings that are stretched between bamboo poles - these underwater fences can be seen at low tide. Growth is so fast that new shoots are harvested every 45 days. The dried seaweed is exported to Sumatra for processing.
Indonesia is #9 in the world for seaweed production, annually producing 46,894 metric tons.
Uses:
- Desserts, ice cream, cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milks, sauces: gel to increase viscosity
- Beer: clarifier to remove haze-causing proteins
- Pâtés and processed meat: Substitute fat to increase water retention and increase volume
- Toothpaste: stabilizer to prevent constituents separating
- Fruit Gushers: ingredient in the encapsulated gel.
- Fire fighting foam: thickener to cause foam to become sticky
- Shampoo and cosmetic creams: thickener
- Air freshener gels
- Marbling: the ancient art of paper and fabric marbling uses a carrageenan mixture to float paints or inks upon; the paper or fabric is then laid on it, absorbing the colors.
- Shoe polish: gel to increase viscosity
- Biotechnology: gel to immobilize cells/enzymes
- Pharmaceuticals: used as an inactive excipient in pills/tablets
- Carrageenan: used to thicken skim milk, in an attempt to emulate the consistency of whole milk. This usage did not become popular. It is used in some brands of soy milk
- Diet sodas
- Soy milk
- Pet food
- Alien saliva (movie effects).
- Personal lubricants
- Lambda carrageenan is used in animal models of inflammation used to test analgesics, because dilute carrageenan solution (1–2%) injected subcutaneously causes swelling and pain.
- Shaving ham sold at restaurants and commercial delis.
