We support small-scale commercial growers, community groups, and allotmenteers with trainings, networks, and information to protect and restore seed diversity across the UK and Ireland.
One hundred years ago, not a single seed was owned, by anyone. Today, seeds are one of the most controlled commodities in the world.
For millennia, small-scale farmers have freely cultivated, saved, and shared a vast diversity of seed. Over the last century, corporate food production has seized seed from the hands of growers. We have lost the diversity and resilience in our fields, the flavour and nutrition on our plates, and the culture and land-based wisdom of our communities.
Our team of regionally-based coordinators are championing a grassroots revolution, placing seed back in the hands of growers across the UK & Ireland. By retraining growers in vital seed production practices, reviving lost regional and heritage crops, and accompanying communities standing for a just food system, the Seed Sovereignty Programme is sowing tomorrow’s resilience.
“The very practical nature of learning through the growth cycle and having the choice of what to grow and harvest from start to finish, alongside the online training, was very enjoyable and achievable. I could fit the monthly web sessions easily around my work, and it was great to see so many people all over the UK doing the same thing.“
We work closely with an incredible growing network of seed guardians, standing for a fair, regionally-led seed system across our isles and beyond.
We work with artists to spread the word of seed sovereignty far and wide. Support our work by wearing our consciously-made, 100% organic cotton t-shirts, featuring the creations of wonderful illustrators from our network.
The Gaia Foundation is a charity that has been working at the nexus of climate resilience, seed diversity, and indigenous knowledge for over three decades, both in the UK and overseas.
Across Africa, we support local and Indigenous communities to revive their local seed diversity, by restoring confidence in their traditional knowledge and governance systems. We also use communications to raise the voices of traditional seed keepers and small-holder farmers and fisherfolk around the world.
In 2012 we released Seeds of Freedom, a movement-defining documentary film narrated by Jeremy Irons, exposing the true story of the corporate takeover of seed. The film was followed by Seeds of Sovereignty and Seeds of Justice, and the later photographic campaign, We Feed the World.
In the UK and Europe we have collaborated on seed and food justice campaigns alongside partners including GM Freeze, GRAIN, the UK Food Group and the Landworkers Alliance. Globally, we’re proud to have accompanied inspirational change-makers including Dr Vandana Shiva, Ethiopian plant geneticist Dr Melaku Worede, and Wangarĩ Maathai, the environmental activist and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
