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Learn to save seeds!

• The premier publication by the original seed savers. Seed Savers Handbook

• Help kids save seeds at school: Seed to Seed Food Gardens in Schools

• Starting a Local Seed Network? The Manual

• Our Seeds: a one hour DVD we produced

• Pay annual Local Seed Network dues

• Become a Seed Savers Supporter!

• Support our action: Donate to Seed Savers

Local Seed Networks

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Seed Savers' Handbook

 
Cover of Seed Savers Handbook

This is a complete reference for growing, preparing and conserving 117 traditional varieties of food plants. Written especially for Australian and New Zealand conditions in 1993 by

Michel and Jude Fanton, founders of The Seed Savers' Network.

The Seed Savers' Handbook has 180 pages with stunning original illustrations. Translations into Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Bulgarian and Macedonian. 45,000 sold worldwide.

Order the Handbook on-line now.

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Seed Savers Network

Gwendolin from the Solomon Islands met Mary from the UK while they were both interns in 2003 and learnt about our aims.

Seed Savers Network

 Experienced gardeners pass on seeds and know how at Local Seed Networks.

Seed Savers Network

 Create a Local Seed Network or join one! Learn how to.

Seed Savers Network

 Expand your diet diversity with more unusual crops. How we started in Permaculture in 1978 See our Permaculture roots.

Seed Savers Network

Children learn in the garden: fun and tactile. See our book, "Seed to Seed Food Gardens in Schools".

Seed Savers Network

Michel learns a few things about friendship and filmaking on the set of our documentary, "Our Seeds".

Maize diversity

So much more than just white, purple or yellow: these are wonderful varieties that we must protect from industrialised contamination.

Seed Savers Network

An appreciation of local food nourishes and enriches healthy local cultures. See our work in thirty-eight countries.

Seed Savers Network

Squeeze tomato pulp, leave to ferment for 2 days in warm room.This is one organic way to control some sees borne diseases . See more tips in our Handbook.

Seed Savers Network

Watch here how simple farmers are tempted to try corporate seeds and chemicals. Click here for videos. 

Healthy Wild Purple Diet: Byron Bay

Jude walks you from the garden to the kitchen with this delightful Australian native, the Davidson Plum. See our film clips.

Seed Savers Network

Seed Savers travels to where needs are to help organise Seed Networks. About our work in Afghanistan in 2002/2003.

Seed Savers Network

 We have uploaded all of "Our Seeds" on Youtube with Portuguese subtitles. Click here to watch!

Seed Savers Network

 This sprout came from an overripe cucumber. Do you save your cucumber seeds?  View our clip on cleaning cucumber seeds.

Seed Savers Network

The Man Ahead of the Scene

John Brisbin of Boab Interactive is our virtual pro-bono web architect and webmaster since 1995.  See John's blog

Helping Gardeners To Become Seed Keepers! Free the Seeds!

The Seed Savers' Network was established in 1986 to preserve local varieties of useful plants by an French-Australian couple Jude and Michel Fanton. The organisation is known for its community seed action in thirty-seven countries within community groups, indigenous organisations, Transition Towns and also with interested individuals wanting to spearhead seed action. Contact Jude and Michel if you too would like to create a seed network in your region or in your country.

The Seed Savers Foundation is a non-profit registered as a charity in Australia, funded by courses, supporter fees and the films and books we produce, available from our online shop. Jude and Michel travel and conduct dynamic training on how to create a Local Seed Network, produce quality seeds and and prepare lesser-known vegetable and fruit varieties. They also teach how to teach seed saving.

John Brisbin, our long time webmaster and friend, has fashioned the banner above. We are continually adding slides. Next time you visit us check out the links.

If you would like to see how Seed Savers started choose the tab About Us then an overview of our activities, our story so far with archives of our work and our work around the world, most recently in Malaysia and Portugal.

Go on! Hit the Subscribe button below! Become a Seedsavers Youtube subscriber!  

Our Featured Playlist: My Seed Saving University
 

Seedy viewing: U tuber?

Be a part of the seed action! Learn and be inspired with the more than 700 short video clips we produced in the Seed Savers gardens and on our seed travels at  » Seed Savers YouTube Channel. Check out a small selection of our favourites under Our Films & Books

 

Our Permaculture Roots

We have also been evolving Permaculture strategies since 1978, the time of its inception, and have given presentations in over thirty-five countries on the relevance of Biodiversity in Permaculture. Around Australia we have decentralised to ninety Local Seed Networks that scout for local fruit and vegetable varieties suited to the organic and no-spray home gardener.  Local Seed Networks collect, multiply and re-distribute seeds and cuttings at no cost in their area.

How We Can Help You

Seed Savers produces resources such as a one hour documentary, "Our Seeds" - the trailer is in the player above - three books, posters and other educational material available at our online shop. Some are at no charge to you.

Our Global Impact

We continue to visit groups we helped to start and are available to travel and assist new local seed networks. Countries where we have helped include Cuba, Afghanistan, East Timor, Cambodia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Japan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan and Portugal. We assist groups to start up local seed exchanges so they can find, collect, multiply and redistribute local varieties of food plants. Here are two examples of our work.

Tour of New Zealand and Presentations at Australasian Permaculture Convergence 11

Founders Michel and Jude Fanton gave four presentations at the Australasian Permaculture Convergence 11 in Turangi in April 2012, including a 90 minute slide show on "Food Sovereignty Starts with a Seed" to a standing ovation of the 600 participants.

They visited and filmed four community gardens and have uploaded eighty film clips made on their travels in NZ to youtube.com/seedsavers

Launch of Malaysian Seed Network

Michel and Jude Fanton were in Malaysia in January attending meetings with civil societies, giving workshops, talks and screening "Our Seeds", our one hour documentary.

On 28th January they launched a Malaysian seed network with Eats, Shoots and Roots run by Sabina Arokiam, Shao-Lyn Low and Juergen Soecknick.

They were interviewed on a national television show and taught on a Permaculture Design Course on Permacutlure aspects of biodiversity.

Tour of Portuguese and Spanish Seed Networks

Michel and Jude Fanton were on a seed roadshow, in Portugal in November 2011 and in Andalucia, Spain, early December 2011. They presented Seed Savers documentary "Our Seeds" and gave workshops and presentations. The Sementes Livres campaign was strengthened and expanded through this visit. See our blog report on Portugal.

Latest from the SeedBlog

19/04/2012 - 13:07

Auckland NZ, Sat 21/4 Michel and Jude Fanton will give a full-day seed saving workshop.

At 14 Erson Avenue, Royal Oak

Cost: $20, 10am-4pm.

Bookings Trish 0212034510

 

22/03/2012 - 11:45

Our colleagues at Sementes Livres (Free the Seeds) in Portugal have sent us news of their activities for 2012.

         ...

14/03/2012 - 12:51

Michel and Jude Fanton were invited onto Malaysia's NTV7's Breakfast Show, a national television show to announce the launch of a Malaysian Local Seed Network, called "Eats, Shoots and Roots", in January. Coordinator, Sabina Arokiam wrote three articles for the newspaper, Utusan Malaysia.

   ...

14/03/2012 - 09:30

Alex Arokiam, has offered to the Malaysian Local Seed Network, Eats Shoots and Roots, to reproduce local varieties of vegetables that he has collected in the gardens of his three shelters for homeless men.

Since 1996 Alex Arokiam has harboured and sheltered hundreds of lost souls such as former prisoners, drug addicts,...

13/03/2012 - 13:18

Michael Green, freelance journalist, who regularly writes for The Age newspaper, had a piece on Seed Savers published in their Greener Homes on Sunday 11th March 2012. See http://michaelbgreen.com.au/seed-saving

Seed Saving
in Greener Homes on 12 March 2012

Growing vegies gets cheaper and easier when you save the source...

29/11/2011 - 23:13

"Our Seeds" was shown at the film festival "Globale Mittelhessen" held in Giessen from 18th-27th November. Organiser, Monika Scarf reports:

The reactions are all positive of course. In your film we especially liked the community between the people and their respect for nature. It leaves a feeling of harmony. And the awareness that we can change something, we just have to get started.

...
17/11/2011 - 08:41

 The Seed Savers screening and courses continues.

Thursday 10: Leave for Coimbra in the north to one of the oldest botanic gardens in Europe, where a kitchen garden has been created recently.
15 - 17h workshop on seeds and seed saving.
17 - 19h workshop on seed savouring with Annelieke - a culinary workshop and afterwards participants will eat the results of their work in an informal dinner.

Friday 10, 20.30h...

26/09/2011 - 06:13
Michel and Jude Fanton are on a speaking tour of Portugal from 4th to 13th November. They are attending and speaking the national seed savers' gathering, showing their film, "Our Seeds", giving workshops and teaching on an Introduction to Permaculture workshop. Please see the programme below. 
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12/09/2011 - 20:01

If you have ever tasted home grown food grow from your own seeds supermarket vegetable lack taste (read they are nutrition-poor). The solution is to grow your own food with tasty varieties you or friends have bred or conserved from local seeds. Peasants very much do just that. 

  ...

11/09/2011 - 14:19

 Assistance with social media and multimedia

If are responding to the advert  published in the Austraiian media the last few weeks then what follows is for you. We offer  short term accommodation to a person that is well versed in multimedia, you...

27/08/2011 - 16:30

All the pleasure is ours when we visit Local Seed Networks. We love it! This time we were in Bellingen, so close to ancient rainforests, in the northern rivers of NSW. Coordinator of Bellingen Seed Savers Irene Wallin  organised a film screenign on Saturday 17th September and a one day course on Sunday 18th. Classes were under the trees and severl participants contributed to an exciting seed identification table.

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18/08/2011 - 08:54

This design was painted on a large bed sheet by Kathlyn  Brown a fabulous volunteer here at Seed Savers HQ in Byron Bay.

08/08/2011 - 11:39

Watch two film clips taken at the December 2010 Woodford Folk Festival in Australia. Dominique Finney coordinator of the Folk Medicine Programme interviews Jude and Michel Fanton. Spontaneous tattooing of "Love is the Seed" at DVD signing.

  

Coordinator of the Folk Medicine...

08/08/2011 - 11:29

Film clip we made on how an African cabbage, Brassica carinata, produces seeds in our gardens at 28° south in Byron Bay, Australia. It is a different species to the common cabbage, Brassica oleracea, and grows to two metres, producing enough leaves to warrant the varietal name of "Women Meet and Gossip". See more below on saving seeds of common cabbage extracted from The Seed Savers' Handbook.

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05/08/2011 - 17:07

Here in Ranau,  a small administrative town at 1200 metres altitude in Sabah, Malaysia, unsuspecting, small-time market gardeners buy seeds and pesticides in shop like this.

Even though the highlands of Borneo are a few degrees from the equator, their very fertile soils, cool nights and warm days means market gardeners can grow temperate vegetables that would not grow in the lowlands nearby. These are exported to consumers...