Seeds of Hope is a dream seed sown a few years ago. With a huge increase in demand for locally adapted, open-pollinated seed 2021 seemed the perfect time to launch membership of a seed library. My name's Charlie Gray and I've been saving seed at Horton Community Farm in Bradford for many years now. I continue to grow and save seed here and am also Northern Regional coordinator for Gaia Foundation's Seed Sovereignty programme.
The seed library will collate seed saved at Horton Community Farm and by others locally. It will also coordinate unused seeds and make them available to members. The bespoke seed packets using the design you see here were designed in collaboration with local creative nick loaring of The Print Project and are offered in memory of Ana Karina Jimenez Villarreal, a friend and colleague who was involved at Horton Community Farm and the Print Project.
Members will receive a free pack with locally adapted seeds as thanks for joining the library.
We aim to make seeds available through our own Airtable similar to this from London Freedom Seed Bank and will be posted to members for the cost of postage. We encourage members to sow seeds and to save and return some to the library. This way we can increase the amount of locally available open-pollinated seed.
Peter Brinch of www.open-pollinated-seeds.org.uk explains why open pollinated seeds are so important