Clearly written by one of our former interns, and beautifully illustrated, this 70 page book is a practical guide for saving seeds in the villages of the Pacific. We provide it as a pdf here as it is out of print.
This is a pdf of an abbreviated translation done by the Bulgarian Seed Savers. If you have any comments please email michel@seedsavers.net. We are working in the Balkans over the next few years and would love to make contacts.
Automatic translation
try machine translations
or
where in the world
Javascript is required to view this map.
Beelarong Community Farm Seed Savers
Date Founded:
2003-08
Beelarong Community Farm has a long tradition of seed saving with Marion Forrest heading up activities such as workshops and seed banking. 9th Dec 2010 organic seed saving and propagating day. Have a look at their website, http://www.beelarong.org.au, from which this is extracted:
Healthy, local food for city people
I think the time is right to take a fresh look at where society is positioned. I feel we need not think we have to create a completely new future, but need to understand the future, which is already developing around us both in the built environment and in organic food production:
Farmers markets, community assisted agriculture, community farms and farmers providing boxes of organic food once a week to city folk are all ways which are starting to become popular as they provide affordable, fairly locally produced, healthy food for city dwellers.
Beelarong's seed bank preserves the biodiversity of our food plants
Nature is abundant. It hasnt taken long for the Beelarong Community Farm to produce an abundance of seeds. Our members are kept excited and busy swapping, planting, growing and eating many different varieties of fruit and vegetables.
Slowly, we are all gaining experience and becoming more efficient at growing fruit and vegetables from our own locally adapted non-hybrid seed bank, be it at our community farm or in member's backyards.
Creativity overcomes lack of money
Working on a shoestring budget is quite challenging. It is very easy to rectify problems as they arise when money is available. When money is not readily available, a certain amount of creativity is forced to happen.
We have learnt the hard way (without much financial assistance) how to become sustainable. We have done that by understanding all community members strengths as well as the strengths of those in our close neighbourhood who are prepared to lend a hand from time to time.
As a result of our efforts though, our small community farm does seem to now be challenging old individualistic patterns of thought and behaviour in members and in the residents close by.
I do think the Beelarong Community Farm is also skilling up the surrounding small community as we farm, share knowledge, run courses and help one another. And as we work together to achieve common goals and assets, both bonding of people to people and people to place seems to be occurring.
It has not been easy. Indeed it has been hard going trying to get people of very diverse backgrounds to act as a team. However, we are gaining immense pride in our farm, farming abilities and communication skills with each other as well as council and government offices. Slowly but surely we are rebuilding a sustainable community with a sense of belonging in an urban area.
