Free Introductory Lecture on Principles of Biological Systems & Implications, January 2017!

Free Introductory Lecture on Principles of Biological Systems & Implications, January 2017!

For the first time in New Mexico, Dan Kittredge, Life-Long Farmer, Founder and Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA; www.bionutrient.org) will be presenting a 3-city tour, free Introductory Lecture Series, on Principles of Biological Systems & Implications!

We will cover the dynamics by which plants evolved to flourish, and management practices that support the environment for that to occur.

Strategies for soil aeration, hydration, mineral balancing, inoculation, and feeding through the liquid carbon pathway will be presented.

Also addressed will be the broader implications for soil carbon sequestration, increases in pest and disease resistance, along with nutritive value, flavor, aroma, and shelf life.  The lay of the land as it pertains to consumer education, marketing and the food movement will also be discussed.

Save The Date!  BFA Introductory Lecture Series Information:

Location 1

Date:  Monday, January 23, 2017
Time:  6pm – 8pm

Location:  Taos Initiative for Life Together (TILT), 215 La Posta Rd, Taos, NM

Location 2

Date:  Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Time:  12pm – 2pm; Bring Your Lunch!

Location:  Santa Fe Community College Greenhouse Management, 6401 Richards Ave., Santa Fe, NM, in Boardroom #223

Location 3

Date:  Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Time:  6pm – 8pm

Location:  La Plazita Institute and Certified Organic Gardens, 831 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque, NM

Local Area Contact:  Claire D'Gaia, 907-738-5333, in Taos, NM

This New Mexico BFA Introductory Lecture Series is provided by the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA; www.bionutrient.org), a 501(c)3 organization, whose mission is, "Increasing Quality in the Food Supply." (http://www.bionutrient.org/mission)

SeedBroadcast Celebrates: Seed the Unknown Story at the Santa Fe Premiere.

 

  They tried to bury us 

They did not know we were seeds.

SeedBroadcast  and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcast Station will be outside the Jean Cocteau cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Wednesday November 16th from 6pm to 9pm for the Santa Fe premiere of Seed: The Untold Story. 

The director Taggart Siegel will be available for questions and answers after the screening. 

Bring  your seeds to swap and your own seed stories to share.

In this sobering and unsettled time the beauty and potential of our heirloom seeds and the stories they hold can bring us together.

We look forward to seeing you there. 

"As many irreplaceable seeds near extinction, SEED reveals the harrowing and heartening story of passionate seed keepers as they wage a David and Goliath battle against chemical seed companies , defending a 12,000 year food legacy."

           

SeedBroadcasting from Tierra Viva: Farming the Living Earth

SeedBroadcast will be honoring Seeds during Tierra Viva: Farming the Living Earth, 2016 Biodynamic Conference.

The Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station invites local seeds, seed keepers, gardeners, farmers, and inspiring seeds, as well as all Biodynamic Conference attendees to join in celebrating Seed Stories and Swapping Seeds. Come by to record your Seed Story, drop off some seeds, and pick some up too. We will have lots of seed saving how-to’s to distribute and we hope to bring people together to share their wisdom and inspiration of Seeds.

We will be parked in front of the Santa Fe Conference Center and there is no cost to participate in this SeedBroadcast event.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Saturday, November 19

800am – 600pm: Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station

800pm – 930pm: Seed Exchange

Here is more information about SeedBroadcast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station:

http://www.seedbroadcast.org

Contact: seedbroadcast@gmail.com

SeedBroadcast Celebrates Seed: The Untold Story in Albuquerque

SeedBroadcast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station is partnering with the Guild Cinema and SEED: The Untold Story to celebrate the revolution of SEED in Albuquerque.

Bring your Seed Stories to record and your Seeds to Swap! Join us for the Albuquerque premiere of SEED: The Untold Story at the Guild Cinema! Q&A with director Taggart Siegel on Nov. 15

Locally grown, open-pollinated seed, growing healthy food, and caring for our family, communities, and earth will transform our world. 

November 15
We will be set up on the curbside from 7pm - 1030pm
Guild Cinema
Albuquerque, NM

SEED: The Untold Story is an award-winning documentary about the dramatic loss of seed diversity and the movement to restore future of our food, from the filmmakers behind The Real Dirt on Farmer John and Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

Visit SEEDthemovie.com/trailer to watch the trailer.

SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal #7

The 7th edition of the SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal is now available online here  
Print versions can be found at numerous locations around New Mexico.  
 Look out for it!

Call for Contributions! 7th Edition SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal

Contribute to the 7th Edition 

SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal

DEADLINE August 15th 2015

 SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal is a bi-annual collection of poetry, inspired thoughts, essays, photographs, drawings, recipes, How-to’s and wisdom gathered together from a national call out to lovers of local food and seeds.  This journal supports collaboration and the sharing of seeds, stories, resources, and inspiration within local communities and between individuals, while also providing pollination through diversified regional, national, and international internet-media networks.

 

SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal 

  http://seedbroadcast.org/SeedBroadcast/SeedBroadcast_agriCulture_Journal.html. 

It is also available in print at various locations and directly from the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station. If you contribute you will receive a stack of printed copies.

 

Contribute   Participate     Propose

Send us your seed inspired poems, images, photographs, recipes, articles about your work, provocative essays, calls for seed action! 

This year SeedBroadcast is focusing on Seeds and Climate change

The deadline for the next edition is August 15th 2016

Please send your inquiries, proposals, and contributions to seedbroadcast@gmail.com

Images should be at least 300 dpi, 4" X 6" include captions, a short bio and your mailing address.

 

We are looking forward to your contributions.

Waggle Dancing at the Bees + Seeds

Local artists, Cloudface and Al Na'ir painting murals to be auctioned off and benefit the event

GMO-Free New Mexico has been organizing annual events for many years calling on Albuquerque to get up and get out and spend time acknowledging the importance of bees and seeds in our lives while building solidarity within Albuquerque communities to advocate and act for these tiny, yet essential beings. This years 2016 Bees + Seeds Festival was a tremendous event with thousands of visitors. The festival took place at Tractor Brewing Company, occupying their parking lot and interior of the brewery and definitely drawing crowds to drink beer, hang out with friends, listen to music, and have a good time. But what does having a good time and drinking beer, singing and dancing have to do with saving a keystone species and the quickly dwindling biodiversity of plants and seed? I would say many things when we build the capacity as a community to realize that everything we have in life comes from these creatures and all our relations. Perception, mindful attention, love, celebration, and gratitude are the seeds of this revolution.

Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station

Throughout the day SeedBroadcast met lots of local gardeners, several seed savers and many people who were looking for a place to share seed and get seed. The Juan Tabo ABC Seed Library http://abqlibrary.org/seeds was also at the event so we sent folks over to talk with Brita Sauer about their local seed library and how to participate. Here is a Seed Story from Brita about the seed library . This was recorded in 2014 at the opening of the seed library.

https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/librarian-brita-sauer-talks

SeedBroadcaster, Ruben Olguin talking seed with a group of visitors

There was talk of community garden projects taking place around the city. One in particular is the Veteran Farmer Project https://www.facebook.com/veteranfarmerproject where veterans, active service, and National Guard people can take free farming classes and get hands-on experience in vegetable and livestock production. Other gardeners talked about the strange seasons and unusually warm late winter, unusually long, cool spring and many seeds that just did not want to sprout.

Gathering seeds and meeting new friends inside the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station

Kids flocked over to the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station to draw pictures and post them on the bulleting board. Many people sat inside the van and listened to Seed Stories. We also handed out lots of seed with the promised exchange that they would try to save some seeds and pass them on.

Seeds: A Collective Voice mural

The festival also included Seeds: A Collective Voice http://www.seedsacollectivevoice.org project organized by artist Jade Leyva who has been working for the last three years on community seed murals to bring attention to seed, bees, healthy community, sustainability, and the environment.
All of theses murals will be shown at the National Hispanic Cultural Center…coming soon.

New Mexico Bee Keepers, honeycomb

Food is Free Albuquerque, seed paper

Many local environmental and social justice organizations were tabling to share information and even something more. The New Mexico Beekeepers Association http://nmbeekeepers.org had honeycombs from a top bar hive to demonstrate how bee architecture brings form and function together to create healthy homes for bees to raise their young, store food as honey, and occasionally birth a new queen.

Also present and celebrating great success was Food Is Free Albuquerque https://www.facebook.com/Food-is-Free-Albuquerque-1453889834882483/?fref=ts inspired by a national movement to take back our food! The Albuquerque contingent was founded by a group of mothers and kids gleaning every nook and cranny of Albuquerque to bring healthy, free food to everyone who needs it. It was great to meet the crew and see the seed paper and free plants they were handing out. Here is a Seed Story from Erin Garrison, recorded at the Civic Plaza Earth Day Celebration where she talks about the project.

https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/erin-garrison-talks-about-the-newly-formed-food-is-free-albuquerque

Juntos information

How can we have seeds, bees, and food without clean water, air, and a healthy environment? In Albuquerque, like in many cities across the country, communities of color and/or those in marginalized areas are at the greatest risk of exposure from the toxic plume of dominating culture, i.e. exploitation. This includes water contamination, air pollution, industrial and political bulldozing, and food deserts. Juntos https://www.facebook.com/JuntosNM is a newly formed organization bringing together Latina/o youth and mothers to organize for environmental and social justice. Here is their word of intent:
“Juntos organizes and engages grassroots volunteers and leaders, especially Latina/o youth and mothers from the International District, South Valley, and Westgate, in developing the People’s Clean Power Plan, including holding appointed and elected officials accountable for state implementation of an environmental justice inclusive Clean Power Plan, as well as research, visioning and development of a local campaign that addresses air pollution and quality issues in Latina/o communities in Albuquerque.”

You know what.... a giant March Against Monsanto banner

GMO-Free New Mexico https://www.facebook.com/gmofreenm/?fref=ts did a fantastic job organizing this event. At their main booth they were handing out free seeds, plants, seed balls, and non-gmo sodas. Their intention is to make all of this real as a hive mind. To save the bees, share the seeds, grow gardens and food for all creatures, bring people together, work together, dream, and celebrate. This event and the way GMO-Free NM functions as an organization could be likened to a bee colony. There is no “one” at its center. Instead it is made up of many dancers, musicians, farmers, activists, teachers, beekeepers, artists, storytellers, and more. It is a collective of joyous, compassionate, generous souls coming together to waggle dance for the bees and seeds, each other, and Mother Earth.

Free seeds

Seed balls

SWAP at EcoZoic Era: plant|seed|soil

SeedBroadcast is honored to be included in the exhibition The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil from April 29 – August 5, 2016 where we are presenting the project SWAP, a hands-on Seed Story germination grow-kit. SWAP, along with the rest of the exhibition, is located inside the New Mexico State Capital Roundhouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the perfect site to declare seeds as open-source, non-proprietary bodies and beings who participate in the social and environmental well-being of everyone in our communities. It is also the perfect site for individuals to declare through action, their right to save and share seeds and disrupt the corporate domination of seed, food, agri-Culture, and politics of the few over the many.

SWAP is a pop-up, Seed Story grow-kit where visitors can participate in connecting with seeds and honoring their stories through drawing, reading, conversation, and of course swapping seeds. One can also sit down and listen to Seed Stories on headphones. SeedBroadcast is actively using this space as an ongoing recording studio through the rest of the exhibition to record Seed Stories from all participating artists and local residents.

We are encouraging local folks in Santa Fe to bring open-pollinated seeds to SWAP and pick up seeds to take home and grow. Seeds can be dropped off at SWAP, deposited in one of the many envelopes and jars, and labeled with the seed name. You might even want to add a little Seed Story into the jar so your seeds will have relations to share with whoever takes them home. When picking up seed, take only what you can use and be sure to leave plenty for others. There are empty packets to transfer your seed into.

The table and bulletin board are set up for drawing Seed Stories and posting these along with community Seed information on the tack board. SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journals are also available for your seedy reading pleasure.

So far thousands of seeds have made their way into the Roundhouse and New Mexico’s political center to take a seat and wield their perfect power of nourishment, wisdom, and generosity. As many will agree, these characteristics are really the roots of radical action today. Seeds are our guides, teaching us how to save seeds, grow food, support healthy community, and share this wealth with others.

Thanks go out to all the seed keepers who brought seeds to share for the opening reception and who continue to bring seeds to be included in SWAP for the duration of the exhibition. We hope this project will encourage Santa Fe to organize a year round seed swap, seed library, or whatever might yet be imagined to share seed.

Here are some Seed Stories recorded at SWAP... with more to come!

Bobbe Besold shares her Seed Story at the Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil art exhibition
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/bobbe-shares-her-seed-story-at-the-ecozoic-era-plantseedsoil-art-exhibition


Marion Wasserman tells a Seed Story about life long relationships with seed
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/marion-wasserman-tells-a-seed-story-about-life-long-relationships-with-seed

Exhibition detail

We would also like to honor the incredible work in the exhibition encompassing both human and the more-than-human love of land, plant, seed, soil, compost, and more. Here is a list of all the artists involved. And as many of these artists point out on their wall labels, there are many more project partners who made all this work possible, both human and other.

Margaret Bagshaw
Bobbe Besold
Matthew Chase-Daniel
Helen Hardin
Jeanette Hart-Mann
Basia Irland
Courtney M Leonard
Jade Leyva
Amy Lin
Sarah Molina
Sabra Moore
Larry Ogan
Ruben Olguin
Chrissie Orr
Halley Roberts
Ahní Rocheleau
Gabriela Silva
Penny Spring
Nancy Sutor
Rulan Tangen
Pablita Velarde
Marion Wasserman
Jerry Wellman
Rick Yoshimoto

Bobbe Besold is not only an artist in the show, she is also the curator and organizer. The exhibition’s title The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil is informed by the following statement:

“Ecozoic: “eco-“ is derived from the Greek work “oikos” meaning house, household, or home, and “-zoic” from the Greek word “zoikos” meaning pertaining to living beings. The House of Livings Beings. We are all, all of us, living in the same house.”

“This biological term was created by the philosopher, geologian, Earth scholar, Thomas Berry.”

Bobbe Besold, Seed Blocks: for building or for gambling

Jade Leyva, Maíz Azúl

Exhibition detail

Penny Spring, Seeds, Stems, Roots and Shoots, fabric collage

Gabriela Silva, Growing Paper
New Mexico True Blue Corn
New Mexico True Pink Corn
New Mexico Black Beans
New Mexico Pinto Beans
New Mexico Snow Peas
The Three Sisters
handmade paper and seeds

Exhibition detail

Sabra Moore, H/EAR//HER/E

The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil exhibition was sponsored by El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, The NM Capital Art Foundation, the McCune Foundation and dRoberts Realty.

2016 Bees and Seeds Festival

SeedBroacast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station will be at the Bees + Seeds Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Come join us and celebrate local seeds, gardens, farmers, food, and healthy community.

Bring SEEDS to swap and bring a Seed Story to record!

May 28th, 2016
3pm - 9pm

Location
Tractor Brewing
1800 4th ST NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Presented and Sponsored by: GMO-Free New Mexico

11th Annual Dandelion Festival, Durango, Colorado.

We left really early with the light of dawn just appearing on the horizon. The air was cold and the sky indicated we were in for unpredictable weather. It was a slow journey to the north, the seed truck taking its time to meander up and over the New Mexico state line into Colorado and on to Durango. We were invited to be part of the 11th Annual Dandelion Festival, which is held at the time of the dandelions to celebrate the power of this plant, organic parks, local food and spring.

Rotary Park, site of the Dandelion Festival.

The festival is coordinated by the Turtle Lake Refuge , the mission of which is to celebrate the connection between personal health and wild lands. Turtle Lake was founded in 1998 by Katrina Blair who teaches sustainable living practices, permaculture and wild edible and medicinal plant classes locally and internationally. She is the author of a book titled “Local Wild Life- Turtle Lake Refuge’s Recipes for Living Deep”, that focuses on the uses and recipes of the local wild abundance.

The Festival was held in the Rotary Park which is surrounded by grassy areas filled with huge bright yellow dandelions that attracted people to sit and make necklaces and headbands to wear in honor of this special plant.
The dandelion derives its name from the French term ‘dent de lion’ meaning ‘tooth of the lion’. And if you look carefully at the petals of this pant you can see the connection. Though the dandelion has been carried from place to place since before written history, it can at least be said that the plant is native to Europe and Asia. The earliest recordings can be found in Roman times and use has been noted by the Anglo Saxon tribes of Britain and the Normans of France. In the tenth and eleventh centuries there is mention of dandelions being used for medicinal purposes in the works of Arabian physicians. As people migrated they took these plants and seed with them to grow them in their new homeland. Dandelions were an important element of their culture and well-being as they were essential medicine, food and wine.  Now the dandelion is known as a weed as it is hard to contain, they have a long tap root and are resilient. They produce hundreds of seeds that are distributed by the wind and can be carried hundreds of miles.

The festival  highlights the benefits of the dandelion and seeks to reestablish its medicinal place in our contemporary culture and to dispel the “weed” myth. All parts of the plant can be eaten and are often found in salads, roasted, fried,  or made into wine, tea, or a coffee-like drink. Dandelions have a taste similar to chicory or endive with a bitter tinge. Studies have shown that the plant can produce antibodies to cancer and can buffer blood glucose levels for diabetics and there are many other health benefits.

Turtle Lake Booth

At the Turtle Lake booth one could learn many ways to incorporate this plant into your diet from dandelion quiche, dandelion pesto, tea and a dandelion lemonade. The Dirty Hands Collective, a radical activist group provided free food, in the style of Food not Bombs, hearty dark rye bread with salad and pasta smothered in dandelion pesto. While eating you could browse the numerous hand- made anarchist Zines arranged at their booth.

Dirty Hands  Collective Zines

 Even though the weather was constantly changing from snow to sun many people came out to share  music, dancing, bartering and in general celebration. There were people bartering their newly sprouted seeds, a thrift shop exchange to raise money for the next festival, a healing tent for those who needed that massage or acupuncture treatment. and of course SeedBroadcast sharing seeds and stories.
Towards to end of the day as the sun began to sink in the cloudy sky a May Pole was carefully erected and Katrina guided us in the ins and outs of the traditional May Pole dance.

May Pole Dance

 It started well, the weaving of people under and over but at one point chaos emerged and the pole and people were entangled in a web of multicolored strands. Everyone was laughing and dancing and taking care of each other.

Katrina exclaimed the end of the dance “sometimes love can get messy!"

The festival was one of love not only for each other but for this wonderful medicinal plant we call the dandelion so please try not to pull it from your fields and gardens,  try not to think of it as messy, take care of it, respect its healing properties, go out and find some and taste that dark green leaf, make some tea, or put it in your salad, you will not be disappointed!

 The following seed stories were shared with us:
Rachel Bennett
Krista Atencio

Seed Swap at Ecozoic Era: Friday May 6th

SeedBroadcast SWAP

Ecozoic Era: Plant| Seed|Soil| opens at the New Mexico State Capital

 Friday May 6th from 4pm to 6pm.

Curated by Bobbe Besold with artists:

Margaret Bagshaw, Bobbe Besold, Matthew Chase-Daniel, Helen Hardin, Jeanette Hart-Mann, Basia Irland, Courtney M Leonard, Jade Leyba, Amy Lin, Sarah Molina, Sabra Moore, Larry Ogan, Ruben Olguin, Chrissie Orr, Hayley Roberts, Ahni Rocheleau, SeedBroadcast, Gabriela Silva, Penny Spring, Nancy Sutor, Rulan Tangen, Pablita Velarde, Marion Wasserman, Jerry Wellman, Rick Yoshimoto

Come on by and bring seeds and stories to SWAP.  Join in the radical seed action in the heart of the State Capital to keep our traditional land race seeds free and in the hands of the people that believe in their true spirit.   The Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station will be there and we can record and share that precious seed story.....  Seeds and Stories keep that culture in agi -Culture!

SeedBroadcasting at the Dandelion Festival in Durango, Colorado

Join SeedBroadcast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station at the Dandelion Festival and come celebrate spring with the wild seeds and wild foods.

Saturday, May 7th, 2016 from 1-9pm

Rotary Park

Durango, Colorado

Contact Turtle Lake Refuge for more information: http://www.turtlelakerefuge.org/

970-247-8395

SWAP and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station at the New Mexico State Capital

SeedBroadcast is participating in the exhibition The Ecozoic Era: Plant|Seed|Soil with SWAP and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station at the New Mexico State Capital
April 29 - August 5, 2016

Location: New Mexico State Capital Building at the corner of Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico

SWAP is a traveling Seed Story pollination pop-up and mini seed library. This experimental “grow kit” will enable the cultivation of radical rooted seed action at the New Mexico State Capital. Bring seeds to swap, pick-up seeds to grow, post local food and seed sovereignty news on the SWAP bulletin board, listen, draw, and record Seed Stories!

The Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station will also be there at the Opening Reception on Friday, May 6 from 4-6pm.

Join us to celebrate local seeds and their stories!

SEED: Climate Change Resilience

SeedBroadcast Report in Collaboration with Native Seeds/SEARCH

Winowing seed at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico 

Introduction

SeedBroadcast is a collaborative project exploring bioregional agri-Culture and seed action through collective inquiries and hands-on creative practices. SeedBroadcast holds the belief that it is a human right to save seeds and share their gifts, to grow food and share its abundance, and to cultivate grassroots wisdom and share its creativity. These are the roots of agri-Culture to be broadcast.

SeedBroadcast encourages communities to keep local agri-Culture alive and vibrant through working together in creative and inspiring ways. Spending time with people on their farms, in their gardens, at seed exchanges and at community gatherings, SeedBroadcast digs deep into the oft-unheard stories of local agri-Culture. Our work includes community based projects, art installations, dialogues, creative actions, and cross country tours with the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a founding principal of SeedBroadcast activities where cohorts from diverse backgrounds work together as critical partners of inquiry and creative production.

During 2016 and 2017, SeedBroadcast is partnering with Native Seeds/SEARCH (NS/S) and farmers across New Mexico to facilitate Seed Story Workshops and to creatively document bioregional seeds and climate appropriate agri-Culture. Through seasonal photo essays and audio interviews, SeedBroadcast will work with these farmers to share their stories about farming in a changing climate while cultivating seed, food, and community resiliency.

These will be published in:
SeedBroadcast Blog: http://www.seedbroadcast.blogspot.com
SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journal: http://www.seedbroadcast.org/SeedBroadcast/SeedBroadcast_agriCulture_Journal.html
SeedBroadcast soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast

The following is a brief multi-media report from the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering and Farmers' Field Day April 16-17 at Tesuque Pueblo and April 23-24 at Acoma Pueblo. We plan to compile all of this for additional publication in the near future. Stay tuned!

Christopher Honahnie presentation on Traditional Hopi Farming Practices at Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Seed exchange at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Toñita Gonzales, Traditional Food as Medicine. Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Seed Story Workshops

SeedBroadcast held two Seed Story workshops in collaboration with Native Seeds/SEARCH Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, the first at Tesuque Pueblo and the second at Acoma Pueblo. Our intent was to evoke an open discussion around seeds: the relevance of saving seeds, its relationship to sharing stories, and the impact of climate change.

We started with a brief introduction about SeedBroadcast and held an open discussion about the question: What is a Seed Story?

We then handed out the following prompts and asked everyone to take some quiet time to reflect and write:
• What was your first memory of your relationship to seeds?
• What is your present relationship with seeds?
• What changes have you experienced from that first memory to now?
• How do you see your relationship to seeds in the future considering what is happening with climate change?
We then broke into small groups and shared stories that arose from these questions.

This action evoked some emotional stories around the loss of traditional ways, dreams for the future of our world and the seeds, the notion that seeds are our children, and much more. It brought everyone into relationship, not only to their stories, but to each other. We finished by posing the question: Now what will happen if these stories are lost?

SeedBroadcast Seed Story workshop during Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering at Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico (photo: Samantha Martinez)

The following day we set aside time to record some of these stories. Here is a selection:

Christopher Honahnie from Tuba City, Arizona shares his story of growing up in a Hopi Farming family and his plans to continue his family’s traditional farming practices.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/christopher-honahnie-shares-his-story-of-growing-up-in-a-hopi-farming-family



Louisa Ann Genin Jojola Lucero of Isleta Pueblo shares her story about the community garden and her role as a trans-planter.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/louisa-ann-genin-jojola-lucero-of-isleta-pueblo-shares-her-story-about-the-community-garden



Jennifer Padilla of Isleta Pueblo talks about her role as a clinical therapist and organizer for the community garden. She talks about seeds, healing ancestral wisdom, and climate change.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/jennifer-padilla-of-isleta-pueblo-talks-about-seeds-healing-ancestral-wisdom-and-climate-change



Gilbert Yazzie from Shiprock, New Mexico talks about seeds as life, where there is no beginning or end, and the importance of keeping farming and food alive to give thanks and share its goodness with all in harmony.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/gilbert-yazzie-shares-his-seed-story-of-farming-sharing-healthy-food-and-harmony



Michael Willie, Diné, shares his story of his love of bringing elders and kids together to care for each other through growing food.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/michael-willie-talks-about-bring-the-community-together-through-growing-food



Rhonda Yazzie Moore shares her dream of planting her families corn field which has been laying dormant for ten years.
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/rhonda-yazzie-moore-shares-her-dream-to-bring-back-her-families-corn-field

Seed cleaning workshop at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Germination testing at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Hopi Tobacco Seed at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Seed cleaning workshop at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Shelling Corn at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Tesuque Seed Refrigerator at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Farmers' Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Tesuque Pueblo Orchards, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Strawberry Greenhouse, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Espalier Greenhouse, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Rainwater Catchment, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Tesuque Pueblo, New Mexico

Tim and Elvira Chavez Farm Field, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Robert Salvador’s Farm, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Robert Salvador and Chris Honahnie, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Acequia Gate, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Southwest Conservation Corp, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Rio San Jose First Diversion Dam, Farmers Field Day at the Seed Sovereignty Growers Gathering, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Upcoming 2016 Farmer Interviews

We will be conducting on-the-farm interviews with five farmers, three times throughout 2016. Each visit will correspond with an important agri-Cultural time and space viewed through the lens of seasonal weather phenomena and corresponding seasonal farming practices, i.e. spring – transitional weather/planting, summer – monsoon/tending, and fall – transitional weather/harvest. These interviews will be recorded as audio/sound pieces and through photographic essays.

Spring is now upon us and we are scheduling our first visits with these incredible farmers. Here is our plan of action, along with the interview questions that we will be asking. We have also asked each farmer to contribute his/her own questions to this list.

May 8, 2016
Ron Boyd, farming at Mer-Girl Gardens in La Villita, New Mexico. He and his family is cultivating 5 acres of orchards, cane fruit, and annual and perennial herbs and vegetables.

May 15, 2016
Aaron Lowden is Ancestral Lands Program Coordinator at Acoma Pueblo with the Southwest Conservation Corp where he is coordinating traditional farming practices on Tribal lands.

May 25, 2016
Larry Emerson, farming and teaching at Hogback, near Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo Nation. He is developing an indigenous permaculture farm and educational space while developing bioremediation processes to cope with Coal Powered Power Plant fall-out and the recent Gold King Mine spill that have contaminated the air, land, and water in his community.

May 27, 2016
Beata Tsosie-Peña is an activist from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She is a mother, poet, farmer, musician, and certified in infant massage. She also serves as an educator in permaculture design. She is on the staff of Tewa Women United, a non-profit organization based in New Mexico, where she advocates for justice, a clean environment and health. She believes in the practice and preservation of land-based knowledge, spirituality, language, seeds, family and the Earth.

Late May/Early June
Christopher Hanahnie is a student at the University of Arizona and practices traditional Hopi Farming with his family near Tuba City, AZ.

Spring 2016 Interview Questions:

• Tell us about where we are today and the history of this farm and its mission.
• How long have you been farming?
• Do you farm alone or with others?
• What are you planting this year. Is this different from the past years?
• How do you plan/decide your yearly planting/farming routine?
• Do you have a long-term plan for your farm?
• What do you like to grow and what grows well for you personally and/or for you here?
• Where do your seeds come from? Do you save seeds? Why?
• What seeds do you save? Can you describe how you save seeds? What does this look like?
• How do you save seeds and grow food at the same time?
• Do your saved seeds/crops do better? Or others? Which seem more adaptive/resilient to seasonal/environmental shifts you have noticed?
• How have you prepared the soil?
• How do you water?
• What other things are important for the success of your crops and your farm?
• What seasonal/environmental shifts have you experienced over the years? In this year?
• How have these affected your farm, crops and/or other things you have noticed?
• What are your hopes for this growing season? What are the challenges you face?
• What are your dreams for the future of your farm? What are the challenges you face?
• What wisdom would you like to share about how we can continue to grow our own food here in the bioregion of the southwest?
• Seeds not only nourish us physically but they hold a sense of potential in these changing times, we believe that it is not only important to save our seeds but the stories they hold. Do you have a seed story that you would be willing to share with us?

Many thanks to our collaborative partners, Native Seeds/SEARCH and all the indigenous and local farmers who are keeping seed and local food alive in their communities. This project is made possible through the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Climate Change Solutions Fund.