Seed Saver's Network Conference and Open Day

[Darklight]

Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. These people do great and very necessary work

Dear Friends of Seed Savers

This Saturday and Sunday's conference is shaping up to be a really interesting event with speakers from five countries - Argentina, Puerto Rico, East Timor, Solomon Islands and Australia. We have decided to make it a mini-open day too with $5 entrance for up to two hour visits to the gardens and conference.

There is a great line-up of speakers and four farms to visit this Friday. See details below.

I shall send out the final programme on Thursday. Some great cooking workshops each afternoon, e.g., Pacific and Timorese fire cooking on Saturday and Leah Roland from Bangalow Cooking School on Sunday at 1.30pm and 3pm - come and learn how to prepare a meal from what you harvest from the garden!

Best wishes, Jude Fanton

--

The Seed Savers' Eighteenth Annual Conference and Open Garden

Theme: The Context and Culture of Seed Saving

22nd to 23rd October 2005

at the Seed Centre in Byron Bay

9am to 4.30pm

$15 per day, $5 for a two hour session, including tours of gardens

Preceded by Local Seed Network workshop 18th and 19th and tours of four farms and gardens on Friday 21st October

Seed Savers' Eighteenth Annual Conference will be at the Seed Centre two kilometres south of the centre of Byron Bay.

We are fortunate to have these people from overseas who will speak on the context and culture of seed saving in their countries:-

Johnson Ladota from Solomon Islands - farmer and organiser in Planting Material Network

Betty and Atai from East Timor - staff of Permatil, Timor's umbrella Permaculture organisation

Mara Nieves from Puerto Rico - anti-GE activist who has also worked in Hawaii

Pablo Ermini from Argentina - agriculturist in urban agriculture, has established a national seed network.

Saturday starts at 9am and Sunday at 9.30am with talks until morning tea, a forum with audience involvement before lunch and practical workshops in the afternoon. These last will include:

cooking root crops and greens Solomon Islands and East Timor style in a fire,

cooking Mediterranean and North African Food with with Leah Roland of Bangalow Cooking School

cooking Latin American style with a cook from Puerto Rico and farmer from Argentina

saving seeds

harvesting the garden (one acre of over 800 perennials and hundreds of annuals)

There will be an opportunity for seed savers to get to know one another at the musical and social evening Saturday. During the weekend there will be guided tours of the seed gardens.

Further enquiries to [email protected] or see our website, www.seedsavers.net as time progresses.

The conference will be preceded by a two day Workshop for Local Seed Network Coordinators on seed saving and running a local seed exchange from 18th to 19th October. The cost of this has been kept to a low $30 in order to encourage the formation of new networks. Please ask us for details.

Seed Savers has a Food Gardens in Schools project with a Resource Kit for teachers. It is seeking further support and case studies of anyone's experience with food gardens in schools. Please let us know if you would like to contribute in any way.

Farm Tour, Friday 21st

Meet at the Seed Centre at 8.30am for car-pooling to these gardens and farms:

9am suburban block in Ewingsdale

10am farm where they grow seedlings from their own seeds near Federal

11.30am market garden near Federal

2pm Permaculture farm of 200 hectares in the beautiful valley of Upper Coopers Creek

The Seed Savers' Network,

Saving the Genetic Diversity of Tomorrow's Food

Box 975, Byron Bay, NSW 2481, Australia

Tel (61) 02 6685 7560 Tel/Fax (61) 02 6685 6624

See Seed Savers' extensive and interactive website with a virtual tour of The Seed Centre in Byron Bay: http://www.seedsavers.net

Enquiries [email protected]

[AndyAmine.]

Thanks for the heads up Darklight.