OUR STORY
Our Story
It all started with a taste. The taste of fresh spirulina. For Sasha, it was a new revelation. Spirulina could be a real food and not just a powder. For Aaron, he had been growing and eating spirulina since his days at NASA and he was trying hard to spread the word about this amazing food. For both of us it became a great way to reduce our meat consumption and replace it with something that was healthier for us and better for the environment.
From that first taste, and those first conversations it grew into a shared dream. Spirulina is both super nutritious and incredibly ecological to grow. What if we could grow the food we wanted to eat ourselves, using the best practices possible and share it with our wider community through our own farm? As we shared our spirulina with more and more people, we realized that there a need in our community. We met so many people searching for more sustainable sources of plant-based nutrition. Enough that our small farm could really work.
After years of growing tests, spreadsheets and property searches we were finally able to make Greenspring Farms a reality when we bought our small plot of land in 2015. Since then, we have dedicated all of our time and energy bringing Greenspring Farms to life.
We are the only investors and everything you see on the farm was built by us and our small group of friends. We make sure that everything on the farm has been built with care and focus on our singular goal: to grow the healthiest and most nutritious spirulina possible.
Now, in the summer of 2020, we are ready to start sharing our fresh spirulina with a wider community. We are a small team with a big dream. Please bear with us in this crazy time. We are doing our best to bring this amazing food to you.
Our Values
We believe that the best things come from small groups of people dedicated to making a big difference.
We want to make our difference by growing nutritious food in a truly sustainable way.
We believe that health and wellness have a simple beginning: fresh local foods that truly nourish your body and soul.
We believe that food tastes better when it’s grown by people who care.
THE TEAM
Dr. Aaron Wolf Baum
After receiving his PhD from Stanford and a career as a scientist in Silicon Valley Aaron switched to algae research in 2006. Working with spirulina at NASA on the OMEGA bioremediation project, he became convinced of the power of spirulina as a superfood. Ever since he has been working hard to develop new and innovative ways to grow spirulina and to share that knowledge with others.
On the farm, Aaron has worked on everything from installing the electrical wiring in the barn to the design of our spirulina growing pools.
Sasha Robinson
After his degree in Computer Science from Brown University, Sasha spent years working in Silicon Valley. His projects ranged from high speed routers to IOT devices and everything in-between. After working with manufacturers in China for his previous startup, he became convinced that the changes our world needed were not technology changes but natural changes. After being introduced to fresh spirulina by Aaron he has been working hard to bring the farm from dream to reality.
On the farm, Sasha has worked on everything from the earliest business models to building out the sensor and data network used for harvest projections and pool health!