Building Digital Education of Heirloom Crops
for the Resilience of African Food Systems in the Climate Crisis
09 Lecture - Seed saving network and seed exchange!
Intro: This lecture is part of a project to improve sustainable agriculture in Africa, funded by the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Main Content: Sharing seeds with your neighbours is a wonderful way to help everyone grow healthy crops and build a strong farming community. When you save seeds from your best plants, you have extra seeds that can benefit others. After drying and storing your seeds in a cool, dry place, you can share some with your neighbours. This helps them grow better crops and can lead to a more supportive farming network. When everyone shares seeds, we all get to grow stronger, healthier plants and work together to improve our harvests.
Call for action: Choose seeds from your best plants, dry them well, and store them safely.
Share some with your neighbours. Together, we can make our crops better and our community stronger!
Seed Savers - A People's "Scientific Institute"
Preserving diverse, local varieties of heirloom crops is crucial. It helps ensure food security and adaptability to changing climates. The movement of seed savers promotes biodiversity and the preservation of our cultural heritage, while strengthening our food independence, reducing reliance on large-scale producers, and allowing us to cultivate high-quality, local products. It's an opportunity to return to natural farming methods and build a more sustainable food system.
Seed savers form communities in their villages and collaborate across regions, sharing knowledge about seeds and gardening. It's a chance to revive ancient traditions and foster a closer connection with nature. This movement promotes healthier lifestyles and understanding of the food journey from field to table.
How does it work?
An impulsive or inexperienced gardener might wander around their garden with a packet of seeds in spring, wondering where to scatter them. Such a gardener would go to a spring plant market or seed exchange and buy many interesting, beautiful plants because everything seems so appealing!
I've done this myself. I've planted everything everywhere and then wondered why the results weren't what I hoped for. Especially if you want to collect quality seeds from plants, such spontaneous planting leads to cross-pollination or even the loss of a valuable plant.
Experienced gardeners do things differently. They plan what and where to plant, how to prepare the soil, and what goals they want to achieve. Maybe they want to provide their family with healthy vegetables all year round, maybe grow seedlings for sale, or simply create a beautiful, flowering garden. Regardless of the goal, they have a clear plan and they implement it. Gardening isn't just spontaneous creativity, it's also knowledge and planning.
If a gardener's goal is to collect seeds from valuable heirloom plants, then planning is even more necessary to ensure that the genetic material of the seeds matches the propagation goals. Additionally, the most important condition for seed saving is that each valuable plant needs to be grown in at least three different locations, so that in case of failure or disease in one location, the plants are preserved and seeds are obtained from the others.
This is the most important motivation for seed savers to collaborate. Without cooperation, seed savers cannot accomplish their significant work, but by organizing a seed saving movement - organizing seed exchanges, trainings, experience sharing, sharing the most valuable plants and taking care of each of them together with at least two other gardeners, seed savers become the keepers of folk knowledge and heritage crops and fulfill the role of folk “scientific institute” in creating new breeds and improving or keeping alive the old ones.
Let’s repeat definitions!
Heirloom crop seed saving is the process of saving and propagating the seeds of old, traditional plant varieties. These varieties have adapted to local conditions over generations and are characterized by resistance to diseases and pests, as well as unique flavors and aromas.
Seed savers are people who consciously engage in this process, promoting biodiversity, food security, and the preservation of cultural heritage. They collect seeds from healthy plants, store them under the right conditions, and exchange them with other seed savers to promote diversity and preserve heirloom crops for future generations.
Ambassadors of Heirloom Plants are experienced seed savers themselves (cultivating and propagating plants). They educate others about the importance of preserving heirloom crops and organize events in their communities, such as harvest festivals, open garden days, experience and seed exchange events.
The Importance and Operating Principles of Seed Saver Movement
Seed saver movement consists of local communities where people with similar interests come together - to preserve old, local plant varieties, promote biodiversity, and ensure food security.
Benefits of participating in a seed saver network:
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Self-sufficiency: The ability to grow your own seeds and provide your family with healthy food.
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Deepening knowledge: Continuous learning about plants, cultivation, and natural processes.
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Experience sharing: The opportunity to learn from other gardeners and share your own experiences.
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Support: A community where you can get answers to your questions and advice.
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Clear value system: Shared values related to nature conservation and sustainable living.
The operating principle of the seed saver movement
The work of seed savers is closely related to the rhythms of nature and the cyclical nature of agricultural work.
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March - May: The busiest time for sowing and gardening.
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Summer: Active work in the garden, observations, and record keeping.
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Autumn: Harvesting, cleaning and preparing seeds for storage, sharing surpluses.
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Winter: Time for analysis, conclusions and planning.
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January, February: Seed saver training to prepare for the next season.
Seed savers from a wider region meet together in winter - for training and seed exchange events, but throughout the year they work in local groups - seed saver clubs - led by heirloom crop seed saver ambassadors.
Why is it important to belong to a seed saver club?
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This avoids many mistakes that can be made when working alone. Members share their experiences, provide practical advice and help avoid common mistakes. This saves time, resources and leads to better results.
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In seed saver clubs, savers can specialize - one is better at beans, another at onions, someone has very good tomatoes. Each saver saves a different plant and obtains seeds that they share with other colleagues in seed exchanges.
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The principle can be ensured that valuable plants are maintained in at least 3 different locations - in seed exchanges, plants travel to other club gardeners and there is greater security that the plant will also be preserved in less favorable conditions.
The life of seed saver clubs: together for better yields and knowledge
Seed saver clubs are like small but very active bees pollinating the garden of horticultural knowledge. In these communities, people meet regularly to share experiences, learn from each other and together create a better future for our gardens. Seed saver ambassadors usually organize and communicate with other clubs.
How do club meetings take place?
Meetings are as frequent as members' desire and ability allow. This can be once a month, twice a month, or even every week. Harvest festivals are especially important meetings when it is possible to evaluate the joint efforts and share new crops.
At the center of each meeting is:
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An informative lecture or experience story: An experienced gardener shares their knowledge about a particular plant, growing methods or other related topics.
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Members' experience stories: Each member is invited to share their experiences, successes and failures. This is a very valuable source of information, as each garden is unique and offers new lessons.
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Homemade treats: A shared meal featuring homegrown produce strengthens the sense of community and allows you to get to know other club members better.
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Cultural program: Songs, dances and poetry make the meeting even more enjoyable and memorable.
Why is it so important to share experiences?
Sharing experiences is like a chain reaction that promotes the dissemination and improvement of knowledge. When several people grow the same plant and then compare the results, it is possible to draw conclusions about which growing methods are best. Such jointly acquired knowledge is much more valuable than the experiments of each individual gardener.
Seed exchange events - the most important event of the year
Seed exchange events are like a celebration of cooperation and shared achievements. At this event, gardeners exchange homegrown seeds, share experiences and plan for the next season. Seed exchange events are a great way to promote the preservation and distribution of local varieties.
What Is A Seed Exchange?
Seed and plant exchange (or seed swap) is a community-driven effort to save heirloom plants through the voluntary sharing of homegrown seeds.
There is no one else who will safeguard the legacy of our ancestors – the future of their cherished plants rests solely in our hands.
Goals Of Seed Exchange
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Raise awareness about seed saving.
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Build a network of seed savers and the opportunity to track the spread of seeds.
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Educate about natural processes, seed harvesting, and foster a sense of responsibility among seed savers.
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Preserve original seed material in various locations in Latvia and around the world – if one seed collection is lost, others will still exist.
Principles Of Seed Exchange
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Assess your experience as a seed saver and choose appropriate seeds. It is better to nurture one plant well than to struggle with ten.
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The seed saver is responsible for the quality of each seed. Collect seeds ONLY from healthy and vigorous plants. Share seeds only from plants that have been growing in your garden for at least two years, and from which you have harvested seeds for at least two seasons.
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To avoid propagating anonymous plants, always write down and keep information about each seed. This includes the seed saver's name, the plant's unique characteristics, the year the seeds were harvested, the "journey" of the seed and history of the plant.
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To ensure the survival of every heirloom crop, share the seeds with at least three seed savers. This way, even in the worst of circumstances, at least one seed saver will be able to successfully grow the plant and harvest seeds.
The content of this page was created as part of the project "Building Digital Education of Indigenous Inherited Crops for the Resilience of African Food Systems in the Climate Crisis Development". Project was funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2024 from the development cooperation budget.
