A YEAR OF GROWTH / LOOKING AHEAD
DECEMBER 2024
We are living in a time of great transition. No matter who you are, where you are, what you believe, who you voted for, we are all affected - because we are all connected. In this time, we heed once again the wisdom of seeds. Vessels of hope, cared for and carried on despite all uncertainties. Messengers of latent futures; blueprints for abundance. Seeds, and our relationships to plant kin and to all life, are a mirror - not only refracting darkness, but illuminating what is possible through cooperation.
Our work with Freed Seed Federation is built upon such cooperation. We are humbled and honored to be a small patch in the global quilt of efforts to re-center and regenerate our sustenance and our relationship to life on Earth, of which we are inextricably a part. From the capsule of one small seed coat bursts forth a revolution. We see it with every cotyledon springing forth anew, and with every plant who gifts us the next generation by the hundreds or thousands.
How seeds are cared for and shared, and by whom, will determine how future generations eat. This is no overstatement. Seeds thrive when embedded in the communities they nourish. Who controls seeds, and who can (or cannot) grow them, as well as how they are grown, determines how effectively - or ineffectively - we repay the debt borrowed from future generations.
There will continue to be those who insist that a path which further severs us from our essential interconnectivity is the only way to feed a growing population in a changing world. This line of thinking relegates seeds to commodities, to property, to mere inputs. We who are deeply engaged in this work know it to be otherwise. Healthy soils and healthy seeds beget abundance - beget healthy communities. We need only to hold a handful of seeds in our palms to jog epigenetic memory. With right relation at the helm, we will chart the course through turbulent waters.
Freed Seed Federation has had a busy year. The demand for our work continues to grow exponentially; the concentric circles springing forth from the ripples of each growing season. Below are just a few of the highlights of 2024:
The construction of a seed vault to house the seeds we co-evolve with, and to which we are entrusted; to round out the seed cleaning infrastructure of our regional seedhub
The first novel varieties from our in-house breeding work making their way into the world via seed company partners
Ongoing rematriation of Indigenous seeds to their tribes of origin; as we continue to care for and hold space for seeds’ journeys home
Teaching and sharing seeds with incarcerated gardeners in the greater Boston area, via our friends at The New Garden Society
Expanding the accessibility of our free annual seed school course hosted by the Westport Grange #181 via a hybrid model of online/in-person attendance; with recordings to be made available in 2025
A new round of funding for regional, participatory tomato breeding with farmers in the Northeast, via a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant
We have tremendous momentum coming into 2025. Among the most exciting things in store for the new year is the opportunity to transition Eva’s Garden—the legendary farm of pioneering organic farmer Eva Sommaripa—into a full-capacity seed research and production farm. But to do this, we need your help. We are a very lean team doing a lot with a little, and well-overdue to expand our organizational capacity. To meet the great demand for this work, we seek to increase our operating budget with sustaining contributions from individuals like you, committed to a just and healthier world from the ground up. We are excited to announce our first matching opportunity to date: a generous donor has pledged to match up to $15,000 in year-end contributions to help us grow! This time of year sees inboxes flooded with such requests; but we hope you’ll consider the impact a contribution to Freed Seed Federation can make to ensure this work, like the seeds themselves, continues to grow and thrive. The proof is tangible—and delicious.
From the bottom of our hearts, and on behalf of the seeds, we thank you tremendously for all your support in making this work possible. Here’s to what the returning light can bring.