Look Locally, See Globally
Alternatives to Political Systems, Biodiversity, Food Plants - Perennial, Seeds — by Janet Millington
It’s just amazing how many of life’s lessons can be learned in the garden. It is also amazing that even though we think we have an understanding of things they don’t truly hit home until we experience them for ourselves.
I had quite a jolt last week as I searched for my bush basil. I considered myself to have a deep affiliation with the plant. It grew for me when it was dead for everyone else. I was always cutting it and giving it away or putting it into glass jars with water where it gave a clean fresh fragrance to the house, kept the flies away and sent out wonderful hairy roots that would strike every time in the garden. This year it had the most precious little mauve flowers that are as useful to it as our appendix is to us. They have given up setting seed as the plant propagates so well vegetively I had bushes everywhere. Or so I thought!
Comments (1)Posted on: October 24, 2008
Dynamic Seed Exchanges for the World
Seeds — by Craig Mackintosh
Exchanging seeds and other planting material, formally and informally, is nothing new. This is how societies have been adding new food, fibres and medicines to their cultures over centuries.
Every culture has incorporated new genes and foreign varieties into their own strains.
In developing countries, formal seed exchanges are either proven ancient seed systems or have been re-invented to counteract the damaging effects of the Green Revolution. Millions of farmers have seen a decrease in their standard of living due to the costly inputs that modern hybrids require. Parallel to this, in the developed nations, more and more holistic gardeners and farmers are searching for pre-hybrid varieties and setting up community seed exchanges.
Comments (0)Posted on: June 29, 2008
James in India
Aid Projects, Seeds — by Administrator
I am now into the second leg of my trip to India - I have been with Beth for the last 10 days which is great and we are both back in Jamkhed, Maharashtra teaching on a primary healthcare course (same as the one earlier this year).
My six weeks with the GREEN Foundation was fantastic. The organisation is what I expected and more. Their programs have worked very hard in trying to hang on to, and build on, traditional and indigenous knowledge particularly in terms of agricultural practices and crops grown. They have collaborated with small scale farmers to construct 45 community seed banks which the local farmers (predominantly women) manage and use as the means through which they discuss (usually on a weekly basis) their plans and activities for the weeks and months ahead. This is participation at its best. These ’sanghas’ (meetings) are not usually peaceful events - one never knows if there is an argument taking place - the noise reaches a crescendo and then finishes with raucous laughter (ahhh, it’s all good).
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