Securing our future through seeds

Seed in the hands of farmers

 

“The seed in its essence is all of the past evolution of the Earth, the evolution of human history, and the potential for future evolution. The seed is the embodiment of culture because culture shaped the seed with careful selection—women picked the best, diversified. It is the ultimate expression of life, and in our language, it means ‘that from which life arises on its own, forever and ever and ever'”.
~ Vandana Shiva

 

Watch Our “I Am A Seed Saver” Video

Farmers Trained

Seed libraries established

Seed Varieties saved

Why Seed Saving?

The tradition and practice of saving seeds is deeply rooted in the land, the people, and communities that steward and share seed and their stories. 

Global Seed Savers is honored to work side by side with many of the 110 ethnolinguistic Indigenous Peoples groups and non-indigenous peoples of the Philippines. Who, despite years of colonization and structural oppression that continue to this day, remain steadfast in their resistance and commitment to keeping their cultural traditions, languages, and practices alive. Seed Saving is one major piece of this continued struggle! 

Seed School

The Seed School is designed to offer a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the history, science, business, and craft of saving seeds. We have educated more than 5,000 smallholder farmers since the first seed school in 2015.

Seed Libraries

In May of 2017, through the help of the Global Seed Savers, the Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS), and the Municipal Agriculture Office of Tublay in Benguet Province launched the first of its kind collaborative Seed Library.

Seed Production

The Arapal seed production area is 1,200 square meters and will serve as a model for other regions of what dedicating land to seed production can do.

Our Values

FOOD AND SEED SOVEREIGNTY

Sovereignty is about returning the power, ownership, and direction of our programs and food system to those that need to be in the driver’s seat: our farmers.

FARMER LEADERSHIP

We treat farmers with the dignity and respect that all of us deserve and our programs facilitate farmers stepping into expanded leadership roles to guide, direct, and lead our programs.

ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

We define ecological integrity as working to maintain the quality and diversity of ecosystems as close to their natural state as possible. Our responsibility encompasses all living beings.

Diversity, Equity, inclusivity

We believe that we are all individuals that are part of a collective. We believe in being open to differing views and creating a safe space for peaceful, intelligent, compassionate and respectful interactions.

Equitable Partnerships

We believe that for collaborations to work, fair and just principles must be adhered to. We work hard to break down silos in our work and build bridges that ensure all partners’ strengths are played on to meet our shared goals and intended impact.

Community

We believe that there is a special strength that can be tapped when being in community with others. We value unity and thus always strive to maintain good camaraderie and respect for the people whose lives are directly and indirectly affected by the work that we do. We believe that there is strength in numbers and that community is key to ensuring success in our endeavours.

"As traditional farmers, we want to contribute to the protection of our environment and support food security."

CESAR GALVEY

Benguet Association

of Seed Savers

Philippines Address

Our local staff work remotely
from various parts of the Philippines (Benguet, Cebu).
 
 To contact our Philippines team, message:
programs@globalseedsavers.org

US Address

Located at
The Posner Center
for International Development

1031 33rd Street, Ste. 174
Denver, CO 80205
 info@globalseedsavers.org
 

Our US offices are based in Denver, Colorado, which is the land of the Cheyenne and Arapaho and 48 other Indigenous Tribes and Nations who call Colorado home. They are the original Stewards of this stolen land and it is because of their successes and continued hardships that we are able to engage in our collective work of restoring the indigenous practice of saving seeds.