Activities | Global Seed Savers

Reflection on the Seed School Teachers’ Training in Cebu

Sep 25, 2022 | Activities, Seed School, Stories from the Field

I am Elizabeth Martin. I am a seed saver and organic practitioner based here in Tawang, La Trinidad, Benguet. I am also the Field Coordinator of Global Seed Savers Philippines (GSSP).

Last August 24-26, 2022, my companions from BASS and I went to Cebu to attend a seminar on Seed School Teacher’s Training (SSTT).

There were seven of us who attended the SSTT – three (3) were from the Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS) and four (4) from the Cebu Seed Savers (CSS). The SSTT was held at the office of the Communities for Alternative Food Ecosystem (CAFEi) in Guadalupe, Cebu.

This is the second SSTT conducted by GSSP. The first one was held in Batangas some time ago. The goal of the training was to prepare us to become future seed school trainers.

Prior to the SSTT, I attended the seed savers training as a participant. The topics during the seed school were focused on seed saving. It included a discussion on the history of seed saving, why we should save seeds, as well as the skills needed to preserve seeds. Meanwhile, the SSTT was focused on self-awareness and communication skills. The SSTT also included a short course on seed saving.

During SSTT, I learned to appreciate myself better. I have also learned how I can better appreciate seeds and other people in my daily life. The training made me realize that by being aware of myself, I can deal better with others because like a seed, each one of us is unique.

I have also realized that in this life, everything comes in phases. Learning should not only be confined inside the four walls of the school. Learning can also come through our daily experiences. I have learned that these lessons can be used to create a more peaceful and enjoyable tomorrow.

Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS) Goes On A Retreat

Sep 13, 2022 | Activities, BASS

I am Anita Paoad Sinakay, 41 years old, married, and a mother of one. I am presently residing with my family in Pinan Daclan, Tublay, where my farm is also located. I named my farm Nature Lovers Garden. It has an area of exactly one (1) hectare.

I am affiliated with several farmer’s organizations like the Tublay Organic Farming Practitioners Agriculture-Cooperative (TOFPA-COOP), the Association of Farmers on Organic for the Rural Development of Daclan (AFFORD), the Daclan Kafamilja Rural Improvement Club (DKRIC), and of course, the Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS).

Our BASS retreat was held last September 10-11, 2022 at Paradiso Beach Resort in Aringay, La Union. We were there Saturday night so we just enjoyed our dinner together as one family and sleep right away to gain more strength for the next day. Early the next morning, at precisely five ‘o clock we went to the beach and started enjoying the coldness of the breeze and the warmth of the water in the sea. From there we experienced playing with the waves and enjoyed bonding while swimming at the same time telling stories, sharing experiences, jokes, etc. Then it was time to eat because everybody was starving.

The thing that struck me most about the retreat is the group discussions wherein we talk about things to improve in the future that we should take seriously on seed saving. Being a member of the BASS, I realized that being committed to saving seeds must be sustained. I was really thinking about how to encourage younger farmers to go on farming and do seed saving for the future.

I am glad that I’m part of the group (BASS) because we are learning something even just by talking with each other, sharing experiences, observing others’ attitudes, understanding others’ personalities, being considerate, etc. I learned how to adjust myself to them, forgetting past bad memories, forgiving others’ shortcomings, and thinking that everybody commits mistakes because we are just humans who are imperfect.

Belonging to a group is more fun than being alone. I think our goal during the retreat was attained.

Departures, Reflections, and the Familiar Yet Unknown Ahead

Sep 9, 2022 | Activities, From the Executive Director

As many of you know, I leave very early tomorrow morning (Friday) at 1:30am PST for 6 weeks of work travel in the Philippines and India. I am en-route at the Seattle Airport right now, phew… here I go!! Preparing for this trip has been filled with many emotions as I have not been to the Philippines since December 2019. The world has changed so much in this seemingly short period of time and so much has expanded, deepened, and grown for the entire Global Seed Savers Community and me, during these challenging and beautiful years for our world.

For me, the foundation of our work at Global Seed Savers has always been about deep personal relationships. These relationships began to germinate and take root when I sat at this very Seattle airport, 16 years ago preparing to leave for another big unknown, my Peace Corps service in the Philippines. This experience living, learning, and working side by side the Cosalan Family at ENCA Farm, and immersing myself in the culture and realities of the Philippines for 2.5 years was incredibly transformative and will always be my origin story of our evolving work and my love of the Philippines.

These last two years have opened space for lots of reflection for me personally and for us as an evolving organization. This process has not always been easy, most good things are not, it has been so challenging to watch the suffering across the world, it has been difficult to feel isolated and physically cut off from each other, and it has also been two of the largest years of growth and deepening our commitment to our mission at Global Seed Savers in our history!

In the last two years we have: more than doubled our revenue year over year, enabling us to grow our team from 3 staff to a team of 7, and despite the many challenges our farmers and community partners continue to face, there is one thing that has remained consistent, our deep commitment to our simple but frankly very profound mission. Restoring communities’ abilities to grow their own food and preserve cultural traditions and values through saving their own seeds. Often in our sector, people want to talk about innovation and doing the “next big thing.” However, we are Global Seed Savers have always been deeply rooted in the firm belief that our work is about restoring a tradition and practice that has always worked. We are helping communities and even more so, they are helping us, remember our interconnectedness through the simple act of saving a seed and replanting them time and time again.

I can share our impact numbers and metrics and you can visit our website to see these and learn more, but more than that, our work is about slow, steady change for communities. It is about restoring relationships to the land, to the seed, to culture, to each other. It is about remembering our interconnectedness! And for me, this is what this trip is also going to be about. Reconnecting to a land, people and place that I love!

This will also be the first time we are all gathering in person as a team! While Zoom has certainty made our global work not require travel, you really cannot replace the in person and I am so looking forward to our four day staff retreat next month and time face to face with the dedicated and wonderful people that make GSS tick and operate on the ground! We are not just colleagues, but we really are a family that genuinely cares for each other.

This trip will also be about a big new adventure and opportunity for growth for Global Seed Savers. Thanks to our mentor and dear friend Bill McDorman, we have been accepted to attend the FAO 9th Governing Body Session on the Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi, India in mid-September. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this exciting FAO gathering and learn, contribute, and ensure that the voices of the true heroes in agriculture are represented, our dedicated partner farmers. At this critical moment in history there has never been a more important time to advocate for the restoration of local food and seed systems. We will also be spending three days at Navdanya, Vandana Shiva’s farm in outside of Dehradun.

My wonderful colleague and dear friend Karen often says, “When you hold a seed, you are holding the past, present and future.” This is a fitting statement for all I am feeling as I begin this journey. Just like the seeds our farmers grow, I am holding all of these things’ memories of my past trips and times in the Philippines, the current realities facing our world and our work, and also holding immense gratitude and hope for all that will unfold during these next 6 weeks.

Thank you for being part of our ever-growing community and Global Seed Savers and thank you for being a strong support to me!

Next update from the ground in Cebu!

Ingat/Amping!

Sherry

Save The Date For the 12th Nourish Celebration!

Aug 16, 2022 | Nourish Celebration

We are excited to be returning to an in person Nourish in Denver and also include our virtual community with this Hybrid 12th Annual Nourish Celebration.

Please Save the Date and more details soon to follow!

Friday, December 2nd 6-8pm Denver Time

Saturday, December 3rd 8-10am Philippines Time

To get updates regarding Nourish, subscribe to our events calendar.

Team GSS is Heading to New Delhi, India for the FAO 9th Governing Body Session for the Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources

Aug 16, 2022 | Activities, International Conventions

Thanks to our mentor and strong advocate, Bill McDorman (formerly with the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, now at Cornville Seeds) we have been accepted to attend the Food and Agriculture Organization, 9th Governing Body Session on the Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi, India in mid-September.

Our Executive Directors, Sherry Manning and Karen Lee Hizola, and Bill McDorman, will be attending as observers. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to advocate for our small-holder partner farmers and network with the delegations and participants from around the world.

To get updates regarding this visit, make sure to subscribe to our social media accounts.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this exciting FAO gathering and learn, contribute, and ensure that the voices of the true heros in agriculture are represented, our dedicated partner farmers. At this critical moment in history there has never been a more important time to advocate for the restoration of local food and seed systems.

Sherry Manning

US Executive Director, Global Seed Savers

Report on GSS Activities, Some Highlights

May 7, 2022 | Activities, Food Sovereignty

Quarter 1 of 2022 has barely ended, but Global Seed Savers’ work is already in full swing. It’s as if we were all making up for the 2020 and 2021.

Last March 15, 2022, we conducted the Food Sovereignty Launching in Tublay, Benguet. As part of the campaign, we have also conducted two more workshops: Climate Smart Agriculture in Cebu and a training on Underutilized Legumes in the Cordillera. Aside from these two activities, we also celebrated Earth Day last April 22, 2022 with several farmers from Tublay by giving a short lecture on seed saving.[This article is focused on the first two activities mentioned above. For an update regarding our Earth Day 2022 Celebration read, Reflecting on our Earth Day Celebrations].

Highlights from the Climate Smart Agriculture Workshop

The Climate Smart Agriculture Workshop was conducted last March 23 to 25, 2022 at the Arapal Nature Farms in Cebu. It was facilitated by Farmer Jon Sarmiento from Mindoro, and attended by our partners at CAFEi and the Cebu Seed Savers.

Farmer Jon with participants to the regenerative agriculture training.

Listening intently to Farmer Jon’s input about IDOFS.

All the attendees to the workshop.

Our partners in Cebu

Of the many important topics that was discussed by Farmer Jon, one that had a great impact was the importance of prioritizing food security for the families. He says that food should be locally produced and processed.

That food is essential to societies is no longer debatable. But the pandemic has taught us that disruptions in food supply can happen. Can you imagine how a community that is solely reliant on food imports and has no capacity to produce its own food fared during the pandemic?

But Farmer Jon’s discussion of food security did not just refer to the abundance of food. He also discussed the importance of nutrition security, which enabled him to discuss the many intricacies of food production. He discussed the importance of adhering to Intensified Diversified Organic Farming Systems (IDOFS) and Permaculture and stresses need to adhere to the values and principles that respect the interdependence of nature and human societies.

Beyond the skills of conducting Farm Vulnerability Assessments, and planning for disaster-proof farms, Farmer Jon has also sought to introduce to attendees a new philosophy of farming which offers a good balance between protecting the traditional practices, and promoting innovation.

Highlights from the Seminar on Underutilized Food Legume Species and Development of Specialty Legume-Based Food

This workshop was held last April 8, 2022 in partnership with the Benguet State Education Higher Education Regional Research Center (BSU-HERRC).

Here are some of the highlights of that lecture:

Dr. Belinda Tad-awan opened the seminar with a discussion of her research on some of the most underutilized food legumes that can be found in Benguet and the Mountain Province. Some of the species mentioned included cowpea, lima bean, pigeon pea, and rice bean.
Hector Gayomba went next to discuss his experiment on various organic seed treatments.
Mr. Gayomba’s study found that the most effective seed protectants we can use during seed storage are pulverized madre de cacao leaves and pine wood ash. Meanwhile, the most effective organic materials are coconut juice and extracts from horsetail plant, sunflower, malunggay, papaya, and garlic.
The seminar closed with a lecture on processing legumes in order to produce various food products.

These two events have once again, allowed us to rediscover the reality that there are many ways to achieve food sovereignty in the Philippines. These have also reminded us of our unique role in helping farmers access important information that can help them improve their practice.