Seeds

Seeds are where agrobiodiversity begins. In the Kanha landscape, farming communities have long maintained a diverse range of crop varieties — adapted to local soils, rainfall patterns, and seasonal rhythms. But this diversity is under pressure. Commercial varieties have displaced local ones. Seed-saving knowledge is held by fewer and fewer people. And the ecological memory embedded in traditional varieties is at risk of being lost.

The Seeds working group is focused on understanding and supporting the diversity of seeds in the Central Indian landscape. It works across several questions:

• What varieties are currently being grown? Which have been lost? What determines what farmers choose to grow?

• Where is seed-saving knowledge held, and how is it being passed on?

• How can local seed systems be strengthened without displacing the autonomy of farmers who manage them?

This is patient, relationship-dependent work. It requires being present in the landscape over seasons and years — not just collecting information, but building the kind of trust that makes meaningful exchange possible.