Hand Foraged Seaweed through Freediving.

All the seaweed in these products has been hand foraged on the south Devon coast through free diving.  Some of the seaweeds like kelp and dulse thrive in the dark and the cold. They are also susceptible to softening in warmer water and breaking in the wave surge which, of course, is part of their natural cycle and, when they do, like autumn leaves, they break down and their nutrients are returned to the ocean. I dive to depths in order to gather seaweed that is still perfect and undamaged, changing my chosen dive location according to the season and weather. Some seaweeds grow fastest in the dark winter months and then begin to break down in the warmer, summer months which means going deeper to find them.

I would describe the underwater marine environment as my favourite place. It’s peaceful, calm and full of life, and so am I when I’m there. It’s not like I’m even part of it. I am it. On any dive trip I may be accompanied by seals, bait balls of thousands of small fish or sand eels and the bass that hunt them, wrasse, various kinds of beautifully colourful jellyfish and even octopus. I find the movement and combination and interaction of everything down there to be like a symphony and a dance.

I dive regularly when the weather is obliging and dive mostly at a new and full moon to access the highest potential energy in the foraged seaweed.  It also helps me to catch the low tides as they allow me to go further out, away from the shore to reach the freshest untouched seaweed.  Working with the natural cycles of the moon and therefore the sea helps us to connect more to the natural ebbs and flows of nature, this in itself has wonderful health benefits.

I am very conscious that we need to explore sustainable and regenerative ways to find nutrients that are supportive to our ecosystems.  Seaweed is an extraordinary superfood in that respect.  It contains most of the nutrients that fish do and, in some circumstances, more so.  All the seaweed I have gathered has been sustainably hand cut by me and not torn – this allows for maximum regrowth of up to 2cm per day, absorbing up to 25 times the amount of CO2 compared to land based plants.

I hope you enjoy this offering from the sea.