Seed security is fundamental in achieving food security.  Saving seeds for future agricultural campaigns increases farmer autonomy and reduces their initial investment in purchasing seeds from shops that are in the city.  Seed conservation is a key part of planning for thriving futures, and Namuli’s farmers are all about it.

The Legado: Namuli Field Team hosted participatory workshops for farmers to share reflections and ideas to improve seed access.  During the rainy season, high levels of humidity and insects can compromise seed conservation and push farmers to invest in purchasing seeds.  In the workshop, farmers connected to share a variety of traditional seed drying and conservation practices, and worked together to independently design a portable solar seed dryer that could confront the challenges they face in saving seeds for the following season.

Farmers integrated their traditional techniques of seed saving with new knowledge about how to protect seeds from high levels of humidity.  With this knowledge and experience as a foundation, farmers designed a model that could be used outdoors to take advantage of the  sun as well as indoors to avoid the rain.

Locally-designed and community-led solutions that start with individual legacies are the key ingredients for transformational change, and on Mount Namuli, these solutions are the seeds of change.