SeedBroadcasting with West Las Vegas High School Science Students

SeedBroadcast will be meeting with science students at the West Las Vegas High School on May 10 to discuss seeds, agri-Culture, and local food resilience. We are excited to be a part of this conversation!

Local Seeds = Local Food at the Tri-County Farmers' Market

SeedBroadcast was invited to the Tri-County Farmers' Market for the 2013 opening-season festival in Las Vegas, New Mexico. From seeds, fresh local foods, vibrant watersheds, and getting back into our kitchens to cook, this celebration was a declaration for people, land, and health.  There was an excellent turn out of farmers and gardeners with vegetables, herbs, plants, and eggs along with home-made artisinal crafts, art, and wellness products. People came from all over the area to celebrate and show their support for local agriculture.

Armand Saiia of Infinity Farms brings a truck load of greens to the market....no tractors, much love, dedications, and great veggies!

 Chef George Dimsey demonstrates cooking with seasonal produce and making the best food ever!

There were also many activities taking place like cooking demonstrations, farm animals to pet, and local musicians creating an air of feast.  Community organizations were present to discuss issues surrounding the local Gallinas Watershed, home resource conservation, and organizing a community garden in the heart of town.

With the drought, many home gardeners in the city and acequia farmers on the outskirts have been left with no water for farms and gardens. This crisis has set the stage for many pro-active projects which individuals are organizing to assert democracy and the essential human rights of citizens to a healthy, vibrant, and productive environment. This action has built a powerful coalition of voices declaring, "Farming and Water! Not Fracking! and questioning the future vision of quality and development for the city of Las Vegas.

Local activist, educator, mother, and concerned citizen, Anamaria Armijo-Glenn, along with Gerogina Ortega and Miguel Angel of Casa de Cultura are up'ing the ante and sending a shout out to everyone in Las Vegas to join them in organizing and building a community garden to take back their rights for active food sovereignty. It will be called La Milpa Community Garden and it will be located at Miguel's historic family home and garden in old town. They presented this concept at the market and are inviting everyone interested to attend a planning meeting on June 21, 4pm at Travelers' Cafe in Las Vegas. Here is Anamaria's seed story of inspirations and dreams for this project:

SeedBroadcaster, Chrissie Orr talks with visitors at the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station

The Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station shared seed resources, seed stories, seeds, and conversation. Several local SeedBroadcasters (folks who had shared their farms and gardens with us in 2011 and who have been inspirations since) came by to share seeds, transplants, and support. Old-timers talked about historic seed types and their love of growing. 

Several seed stories were also shared with us while we were at the Tri-County Farmers' Market and they will be coming up shortly in the next post...so stay tuned and keep it seedy. Also, if you or anyone you know is interested in contributing a seed story to these broadcasts contact us and we can conduct a recording with you.
Call or email - 505-718-4511 //  seedbroadcast@gmail.com

Seed Stories from Tri-County Farmers' Market

Here are some of the seed stories that were shared with us from Tri-County Farmers' Market in Las Vegas, New Mexico!

Jude Romero shares his story about saving New Mexican chile seeds.

Ella Bleu Jimenez shares her seed story about why seeds are important

Francine Lujan talks about the culture of seeds, keeping traditions alive, and gardening

Julia Fuchs tells her seed story about broadcasting life through wildflower seeds

Damien Maestas talks about the importance of saving seeds to save culture

Thank you Jude, Francine, Julia, Damian, and Ella Bleu for sharing your seed stories!

SeedBroadcasting at the Tri-County Farmers' Market in Las Vegas, New Mexico

Join us in Las Vegas, New Mexico for a celebration of Local Seeds = Local Food!

 

SeedBroadcast is partnering up with the Tri-County Farmers' Market in Las Vegas, New Mexico to celebrate local seeds, food, and the unwavering efforts of local farmers.

Bring your seeds to swap, and join us for seed story shout-outs, seeds and local food

June 8, 2013
8am - Noon
Local Seeds // Local Food
Tri-County Farmers' Market
6th and University
Las Vegas, NM

This event is hosted by the Tri-County Farmers' Market!

Reflections: January 19th 2013

As SeedBroadcast gears up for the coming year we have been reflecting on all of the incredible encounters and relationships that we have made with seed savers, gardeners, local food growers, students and those who just want to have access to healthy locally grown food. These encounters have been made across the country through community events, creative workshops, gatherings and partnering with like-minded folks.  At all of our SeedBroadcast stops, which have included libraries, farms, gardens, museums and downtown street corners, we have invited people to fill out a seed survey. These surveys help guide us to define and fine tune our intent, purpose and where best to put our resources. We believe that there is a wisdom held in each locale and we are curious to learn and hopefully share the similarities and discrepancies in regards to seed saving, dispersal and the growing and easy access of healthy local food. Really we do read these surveys.

Completed surveys at the Campartiendo Semillas, Sembrando el Futuro Seed Exchange

 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, 2012

This year SeedBroadcast has committed to investing time back to the genesis of the project, the Las Vegas, San Miquel, Mora and Guadalupe Counties of Northern New Mexico. We will be gathering and dispersing ideas, skills and seeds in various locations and will continue to present what we encounter through this blog. In order to orientate ourselves we have been going back through the surveys that were completed at last years seed exchange in Las Vegas.

The following is a selection of thoughts from these surveys.

On the idea of why save and share seeds:

Andrea from Las vegas,

"To nurture and share pure natural food and plants with human kind."

Joe from Las Vegas,

"To grow food for my family." 

Kathleen from Ocate,

 "I like the quality of my crops."

Reyna from Las Vegas,

"I would like to be more self -sufficient and help ensure that there will be uncorrupted seeds for the future."

And Trina from Tecolote,

"So that others can enjoy the whole experience of growing."

On what a seed library should be:

Annabel from Anton Chico,

"It could have all kinds of seeds and all the information that an individual would need to know about the seed."

Grace from Las Vegas,

"A selection of all the seeds available in our area."

And Jeffery from Mora.

"A place where seeds of all kinds are stored and easily accessible."

On why people have stopped saving seeds:

 Kerry from Las Vegas,

"We stopped valuing them as a resource when large scale farming became more popular."

Marge from Las Vegas,

"It is lazy to just go and buy the vegetables and flowers already grown without the hassle of doing it yourself."

And Reyna from Las Vegas,

"I think people stopped saving seeds due to not being educated on preservation of them for growth. "

Our seed survey can be found here at the PARTICIPATE! page and can be filled in online. We invite you to share your thoughts and especially any seed stories that you hold. This seed story might be about the seeds your grandmother saved, the tin of corn kernels that were found in an attic, the ancient seeds you might have been given or about your favorite seeds.  Some of these stories we have been recording and you can access them here at our Seed Story Soundcloud.

But you can write them too and we will post them on the blog. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Armand Saiia from Infinity Farm in Ribera, New Mexico sharing a seed story.