permaculture

[Joshua Dolan <rainbowwarrior14874@yahoo.com>]

2004 Finger Lakes Seed & Plant Sale

        Seeds represent the purest form of sovereignty
available to human beings, the freedom to grow food
and feed our families, the freedom to pass down food
security from generation to generation in an unbroken
chain, and the freedom to work together as a community
to save seeds for the long-term benefit of countless
numbers.  This sovereignty has slowly been eroded
since the green revolution to the point we are at
today.  We have come to a pivotal moment in history
where multinational pharmo-agro-chemocorporations are
striving to gain control over every aspect of health
from the soil up.  These companies who would make us
ill to make us well, want to claim our heritage of
seed saving as their sole right.  They would strip us
of our most basic freedoms in the name of profit.  

        Luckily, there are thousands of seed savers around
the world who have organized at the grass roots level
to resist this heinous encroachment on our liberty. 
Although as of yet there has been no action on this
front locally, The Finger Lakes Permaculture Network
seeks to remedy the situation.  Our inaugural seed and
plant sale will be held this spring and will mark the
first large seed event in the area and will hopefully
lead us to the formation of a seed trust.

        The idea behind the sale is quite simple; by
organizing a large group of people to buy a large
order of seeds and plants, the cost to the
individually is reduced considerably.  In order to
facilitate such a large order, a standard order form
will be created with selections that are particularly
suited for our area.  Along with the standard
vegetables, seeds and perennial plants will also be
available including herbs, endangered natives,
flowers, underutilized perennial edibles, as well as
fruiting trees and bushes.  To further simplify
ordering, seed packages will be created
(i.e.-beginning gardener starter kits, family of four,
family of eight, turtle island edibles, conservation
pack with native edibles and endangered natives, rare
heirlooms, herb garden, medicine garden, soil builder
mixes).  This will help make choices simpler, reduce
costs further, and introduce people to less mainstream
varieties and plants that they might normally shy away
from.

        Along with the seed order form there will be a
special form included for seed package sponsorships. 
For $10-$50, a seed package can be sponsored for a
low-income family in Ithaca.  Along with the seeds,
the family will also have a small garden plot
installed by Food Not Lawns, a grassroots gardening
collective, as well as instruction on installation and
maintenance. A cooking class will help them utilize
their vegetables and increase their knowledge of
nutrition.  A seed saving workshop will happen at the
end of the season and gardening help will be available
throughout.

        Although ordering will probably be happening right up
to the deadline by individuals, the bulk of it will
occur on one day in February at our first annual seed
gathering.  For a small fee (to raise money for food
not lawns and the seed trust), people will receive
their order form and a booklet (zine) on permaculture.
 The booklet will contain permaculture’s basic
philosophy, DIY permaculture gardening, information
about specific plant species, local projects and local
contacts, homestead & permaculture directory for those
who want to see sustainability in action, suggested
reading, contacts for questions and help and pertinent
web sites.  The event itself will not only give people
a chance to place their orders and talk about
plants/gardening, it will be a great opportunity to
introduce a large group of people all at once to the
idea of a non-centralized local seed bank.  It will
also be an opportunity to network and roundtable
discussions will inform people about sustainability
and stimulate future cooperation.

        This seed sale is the first step in a long-term seed
project.  With seeds and plants already in place,
creating the structure for a non-centralized seed
saving effort will be the easy part.  With minimal
coordination and organizing, seed saving workshops and
permaculture events, locally grown and saved seeds of
hundreds of species and varieties can be multiplied
and available within our own bioregion.  Along with
the spring order form and semi-annual installment of
our local permaculture zine, a small membership fee
would also buy a local seed savers/activist directory,
newsletter and a small sampling of seeds.  These could
be distributed via spring and fall gatherings, which
would eventally become seed exchanges as more seeds
become available locally.  Memberships would also
translate to discounted tuition to local permaculture
courses, workshops and events, and free workshops on
seed saving and gardening throughout the year. 
Finally, work parties and farming cooperation could be
facilitated through the network.  Help ranging from
planting, maintenance, installing new gardens, help
around the homestead, help at market, etc. could all
be available from members of the group and by
volunteers.  

        The seed could very well represent the basis for a
new green economy.  Once the apparatus for large-scale
cooperation is established, cooperative ventures would
become the norm rather than the exception. 
Wide-ranging projects suddenly become not only
possible, but likely.  Marketing surplus vegetables, a
grassroots seed company, and a permaculture design
collective are natural extensions of the seed trust,
and bigger projects ranging from region wide food
distribution and CSA services, a centralized space for
farmers and craftspeople to share equipment and
workshops, and even a new ecovillage suddenly come
within reach.  By creating food security locally,
especially in the context of permaculture systems, we
create an ever-increasing stability capable of warding
of any number of disasters, from flood and famine to
war and plague.  If we are to retain our sovereignty,
cooperation and food security are at the heart of the
matter.       


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