Over the past few decades, there has been a trend of systemic shift of Agriculture towards hybrid/treated/processed seeds. These need to be bought by the farmer every year. Not only does this add to the cost of the farmer, it also makes the farmer dependent on the Industry every year.
Over the years we have lost out on a lot of varieties of flora and fauna and it is becoming a huge food security risk.
#CommunitySeedBank is an initiative to preserve local indigenous varieties and make them accessible to whoever wants to grow.
Citizens document, identify, appreciate, protect and propagate various fruiting and flowering plants with emphasis on local varieties.
Document: Whenever we find something new and interesting, we click a good photograph and note the location or the person having it.
Identify : Many of us find it difficult to identify a lot of flowers/fruits/berries. Through this initiative we engage the community in identification.
Appreciate : While identifying, we also strive to find more information about its uses, significance, so that we can share and appreciate better.
Protect: When we know a particular variety of a plant/tree there is a better chance we would protect it, as we know of its various uses, benefits
Propagate: We maintain a record of citizens along with the particular variety of plant/seed and location. Most of the citizens are happy to share a cutting/seed so as to help in propagation of the plant. We organize Huddles where citizens can share and exchange the various seeds/saplings/cuttings.
Individuals can submit information about the variety of seeds, saplings and cuttings that they have and are willing to share. This will then become a pool from where members can choose to source from.
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