Since packing up the donated seeds into their trusty yellow dry bag back in March at Grow Heathrow – PEDAL Seeds of Solidarity have come a long way.
Travelling in one of our trailers up and down beautiful mountains, along flat, straight roads surrounded by monocrop fields and eventually finding their way into people’s pockets and community gardens.
Leaving the UK, the bank had been made up of around 50 different varieties of Heritage vegetable seeds ready to be swapped and given away. This exchange provides a platform for us to talk about food autonomy, the threat of GM and patented seeds, the importance of saving, sharing and swapping old variety seeds. It also brings to light the issues of access to land, seeds and water which are pivotal in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.
A large chunk of our seeds have been donated from the brilliant small Welsh seed company ‘The Real Seed Catalogue’ who promote the preservation of old variety seeds. Other seeds were donated to the bank from Organic Lea’s seed collection as well as from a seed swap that took place at the UK Reclaim the Fields gathering. Some old varieties of Romanian Kidney Bean, tomato and pumpkin seeds were donated at the European Reclaim the Fields assembly.
Swapping seeds at a farmers market in Graz, Austria
Its an exciting collection. With each packet of seeds comes a story depending on from whom and where they came. Many were given by their contributors with special wishes for them to travel safely to soil across Europe and the Middle East, carrying with them stories of strength and resistance against corporate control over our seed and food autonomy. Their destiny is to be planted, eaten and seed-saved for the following year.
Each community of Resistance where PEDAL has stopped, seeds have been given to be planted there. No Borders activists and migrants have received seeds, as have Brussels BDS activists, farmers who’s fields we have camped in, squats we have stayed in, a manager of a boulangerie that gave us free bread in support of the cycle, and many more. Even a German farmer who knocked one of us of our bike! All have received seeds of solidarity stamped packets containing the specific vegetable or herb they wish to grow along with a lot of food for thought on the issue. We are gathering emails and contacts of these places and people so that further down the line we will have photos and messages on how they have grown. Along with the plant perhaps will germinate new forms of political action or thought, inspired by the conversations had over the bank’s sprawl of seed packets.
Exchanging seeds with food growers in La Haricots urban farm in Brussels, Belgium
Seed packets left for the No Borders crew in Calais, France
Saturday morning revellers take seeds from the stall in Graz, Austria
Solidarity seeds left for farmer who let us camp in his field outside Stuttgart, Germany
Giving away or swapping seeds is building on the practice of ‘gift economy’. The initial confusion of having no money involved is followed by appreciation and interest.
The seed bank so far has been a project and experiment on building new relationships with people and projects we encounter along the way, treading together the geographical and human path PEDAL creates along its route giving strength in the thought that we are everywhere and our seeds will continue to grow in solidarity and resistance.
Get sowing, spring has exploded!
