We had a fantastic time at our launch event in Kirkcaldy! It was so exciting to see 30 attendees from all over Fife who are excited about seed saving, and the day-to-day, practical revolutions it enables.
We were honoured to share three short films produced by the Gaia Foundation, whose stalwart efforts to protect and promote seed sovereignty all over the world create hope amidst the darkest and most villainous of tales:
… which fired us up about the need to build community resilience in the face of an exploitative corporate food regime, and gave us hope for what we can achieve right now on our doorsteps. There are lots of other films from the Gaia Foundation, which we really recommend if you want to learn more about the practicalities of seed saving, the global implications and the connections between chemical agriculture and food insecurity, as well as heritage seed and historical practices in the UK and around the world.
We were delighted to welcome representatives from Seed Libraries across Scotland: Alex from Perthshire Seed Library, Efi from Dawson Community Garden in Dundee, Rowan from Glasgow Community Seed Coop, and Lisa from Lauriston Farm in Edinburgh. These four legends fielded questions from our curious community and explained in depth how their respective seed projects had made enormous positive impacts in their communities.
The evening concluded with a lively and informative discussion. We talked about the practicalities of seed saving and open pollination, as well as how the humble practice of seed saving had united disparate communities, opened doors for land acquisition, and provided a foundation upon which to challenge those who would seek to control seeds and the food that grew from them.
We heard of challenges, obstacles, and failures, but ultimately, we shared tales of resilience and triumph, often against the odds. Very much like the journey of a tiny seed in the chaotically wild world.
Some useful resources that came up in discussion:
We were thrilled to unveil our seed cabinet, which is being painted by local artist Abi Cooper. Plenty of people had a chance to rifle around among the seeds we’ve saved and sorted so far. And many thanks to those of you keen beans who brought seeds along to add to our collection already!
We’re hoping to have the cabinet ready for action in time for our Seed Swap in Rosyth on Saturday 14th March. After that – with thanks to Mimi and EATS Rosyth – the cabinet will be hosted in their Community Garden until the end of April.
Special thanks to wonderful volunteers for the success of this event: Tony for exquisite seed, bean and pea themed food; Milly and Kitty for facilitation and setup; Lea and Abi for cabinet transport and last minute zine risoprinting. And to the Kirkcaldy Galleries for being excellent and seamless hosts!
The Seed Library will soon be touring Fife, and we have an action-packed year ahead. If your organisation would like to host the cabinet, would enjoy a pop-up seed swap, or would like us to run a workshop for your community group, please get in touch!