(Visit The Campaign and read about why it’s paramount to preserve indigenous seeds for planting)
Help us in our mission to preserve seed diversity! We’re dedicated to saving wild, indigenous, pre-heirloom and select heirloom seeds for growers of all levels.
“These [genetic] resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. In a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on these materials. The line between abundance and disaster is becoming thinner and thinner, and the public is unaware and unconcerned. Must we wait for disaster to be real before we are heard?”–Professor Jack Harlan, plant geneticist
Who We Are
Indigenous Seed Initiative is the intuitive vision of Terance Miller. Terance is a Botanist-Ecological farmer with twenty years of organic sustainable farming experience. He has an extensive background in ecology, sustainability, ecological agriculture, bio-organic farming, seed saving, astronomy, botany, plant morphology, soil microbiology, herb farming, nutrition, anatomy & physiology and therapeutic herb formula design & manufacturing.
Together with co-founders Ruby Olisemeka, a home, school and community garden builder and educator; and Tendaji, a Certified Holistic FoodCare Specialist, Wellness Chef, Eating AstroPsychology Coach and Founder of a wellness ministry-Food As Nutrition are establishing a seed depository and company that places emphasis on collecting wild and pre-heirloom seeds. Our focus is on collecting, preserving and multiplying the ancient treasures of the past that possess the original genetic material of edible foods.
We use the term indigenous seed to denote wild, or as close to wild seeds as one can get, this also includes select heirloom and pre-heirloom varieties.
We also use the term indigenous to embody both the cultural and genetic value of a seed. Seeds are closely tied to the indigenous people of a land, as a source of nutrition, as part of a spiritual system and as a way to bind the collective. We honor and celebrate the power of the indigenous seed and plant.
What we do
• We search, explore and identify wild, pre-heirloom, and heirloom varieties we believe represent a genetically vigorous seed stock
• We procure identified seeds and grow it out for seed crop
• We sell saved seeds to growers, and encourage them to be independent of us and save their own seeds
• We produce educational material to help growers seed save
1. Indigenous/Native/Wild seeds provide greater nutritional value than their domesticated or bred varieties
“How do we begin to recoup the losses of essential nutrients? By “eating on the wild side”–choosing present-day fruits and vegetables that come closest to the nutritional bounty of their wild ancestors.” Jo Robinson author Eating on the Wild Side
2. A way to maintain genetic diversity: To keep many modern bred seeds viable over time, they are often back-crossed with wild strains. Why? Contained within the wild strain is the information/genetics for a plant to thrive – wild vigor. Indigenous/native/wild seeds are often progenitors of the many varieties we see today. As we lose the diversity in our seed stock its imperative to maintain the indigenous stock to replenish this diversity.
For more information please visit and support the Indiegogo Campaign of the Indigenous Seed Initiative
