EFAO Conference 2021

As a grower, have you asked yourself: Where do my seeds come from? Whose hands have they passed through? What stories might they tell?

This session will spark curiosity about the relationships that can be built through hearing and telling the histories of the crop varieties we grow, eat, and sell. Participants will leave with inspiration to reflect on their own relationship to seeds, including their ancestral seeds. Sharing stories about seed is one way growers can build a relationship with folks who are, and have been the traditional, ancestral seedkeepers of the seeds we grow. Donating, buying, tithing and implementing seed reparations also strengthen the relationships between grower and seedkeeper.

Kahehtoktha,Janice Brant from Kenhteke Seed Sanctuary and Amirah Mitchell from TrueLove Seeds will be be sharing the importance of knowing and understanding seed stories and how this has led them to the work they do growing, selecting, championing, and rematriating seeds with their ancestral communities and strengthening the link between stories and seeds.


For those interested in corn growing here is a free booklet by Jane Mt. Pleasant, called TRADITIONAL IROQUOIS CORN Its History, Cultivation, and Use: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/67190/NRAES-179.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y