Building macrocystis farming communities in Chile with Huiro Regenerativo and IPMAPY
While cultivation technology has been progressing, it’s confronting to see many farmers still struggling to sell their harvest in Europe. Interestingly, a professional processing industry is already established in Chile, supplied by wild harvesting (96%). We work with IPMAPY in the project Huiro Regeneritivo to train local farmers and prove that seaweed farming can be a sustainable business case in the Los Lagos region.
The partnership combines local knowledge, infrastructure, and resources from Chile with Hortimare’s specialized expertise in seaweed domestication and production scaling. Huiro Regeneritivo has successfully cultivated their own seed and farmed their produce, but they need further optimization and support, which led to this partnership.
The journey began in December 2023 when the Hortimare team visited Huiro Regeneritivo after the Dutch Seaweed Innovation mission organised by RVO. Following frequent online meetings, Joshua Masel provided hands-on support in February, resulting in the establishment of a standardized hatchery within two months.
Huiro Regeneritivo is set to inoculate the first spools in their new facility in mid-May after successfully rearing another batch in their older facility. Maria Jose de la Fuente, founder and director of operations, recently visited Hortimare for finalizing technical infrastructure and on-site training. The Hortimare team and Maria Jose spent the week together strengthening the partnership and discussing all avenues to see the project succeed. In the coming weeks Hortimare will send further colleagues to continue the onsite support, and will welcome new employees of Huiro Regeneritivo to the Netherlands where further training can take place.
María José visiting Hortimare
Extraction of fertile seaweed at Hortimare 
Josh supporting with building hatchery in Chile 
Huiro team in Chile, visit of Josh 
Release of spores at Hortimare lab 
María José at Hortimare, tumbling tank with Palmaria 
María José at Hortimare, raceway to test kelp seeding techniques 
Josh supporting with building hatchery in Chile 
María José (Huiro) at the raceway at Hortimare 
Josh supporting with building hatchery in Chile 
Josh supporting with building hatchery in Chile
We’re excited to support Huiro’s mission to develop a regenerative seaweed industry in South America and are grateful to have been chosen as a partner for this innovative project. Our strong connection, despite geographical differences, stems from our shared missions. Hortimare’s success relies on our farmers’ success.
The contact points for this project are Gabriel (gabriel.montecinos@hortimare.com) and Josh (josh.masel@hortimare.com).