As travel restrictions in the Philippines have eased up and mobility of people is improving, members of the Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS) decided to hold their first meeting of the year last week in Tublay, Benguet.
With several members in attendance, BASS made important decisions relating to agreements on membership, and plans for organizational development. They also conducted a review of current activities, as well as discussed some plans for future initiatives.
One priority identified during this meeting was on how the organization can optimize their operations so that they can cater to the growing request for open-pollinated, organically grown seeds coming from various individuals and partners across the Philippines.
In order to assess how Global Seed Savers can better help each BASS member in achieving their goals this year, Efren, our new Program Manager, has been visiting some of the members' farms over the last few weeks. We are thrilled to be returning to our in-person farm visits and excited to continue to see BASS grow and respond to the growing demand for locally produced open-pollinated seeds.
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Varieties of open-pollinated and non-GMO seeds are now available for sale to interested organic farmers, urban gardeners, and anyone who has the passion to plant and grow their own food. We encourage you to also grow these plants and save the seeds when you can!
These are seeds grown and saved by the BASS farmers in Tublay and the rest are from our seed production site in Arapal Farm in Northern Cebu. Contact us through our FB and IG pages to learn more about seed sales!
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW
US BOARD MEMBERS
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Lily Nierenberg
Lawyer, food justice and sustainability advocate
"I value Sherry and Karen's efforts to build a bottom-up organization that empowers the individuals most affected by the work that it does. Before joining the board, I attended several Nourish events, and each time I became a bit more hopeful about the capacity of a small group of committed people to make a big, lasting impact both in their local communities and at an international level."
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Lisa Reyes Mason
Social worker, scholar, and advocate for climate justice
"I joined the Global Seed Savers U.S. Board inspired by its visionary work that embodies grassroots organizing—one seed, one farmer, one community at a time—for people and planetary health. Like the transformative power held in a tiny seed—to grow, to change, to cycle new life—we all have the power to get involved, lend a hand, and create a regenerative world together."
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Meta Sarmiento
Independent rapper, award-winning poet
"Being born and raised in Guam, an unincorporated territory of the US, I know what it's like to be dependent on imported goods, struggling with owning the means of food production. GSS is working to alleviate such dependency and struggles for a community that I care about. That's what excites me most: to play some small role in assisting with those efforts."
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Renée Fourie
Outreach manager, seed stewards program director, Media coordinator
"'You don’t know unless you try' is a saying I repeat to myself, motivating me to continue to seek knowledge and true understanding. Without this perspective, I may have never encountered the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance which helped to expand how I think about the human relationship with food. As a Board Member for GSS, I am beyond excited that my path has come full circle and I am now able to contribute toward positive change in my other homeland, the Philippines."
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THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS
AND SUPPORTERS!
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ROTARY CLUB OF MEAD, COLORADO USA,
ROTARY DISTRICT 5450
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Through a Rotary District 5450 Grant we received the end of 2019 via the tremendous leadership of the Rotary Club of Mead, Colorado, we have been able to launch and expand our seed production area in Northern Cebu. Thanks to this same grant, we were also able to provide direct assistance to our partner farmers through on-farm seed library kits, covid relief efforts, and more!
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Special thank you to our Rotary Champion, Dr. Ernesto A. Amaranto, a native son of Bicol, Albay who is now living in Colorado. Thank you Dr. Amaranto for your unending dedication and support of our work!
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"I am glad to be supporting the work of GSS/P. To me, it is important to give back, to share. I feel good about what I am doing with Rotary Club, and with GSS/P in my homeland of the Philippines."
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We are honored to be chosen as a recipient for Joshua and Gabriel's 22-Aged Seeders, a joint birthday fundraiser they organized in 2020. We are ecstatic to know that more Filipino youth are beginning to realize the important role that farmers play in our economy and society. Thank you Joshua and Gabriel for the inspiration!
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"After coming across Global Seed Savers' website and seeing how monetary donations translated into education and resources for farmers, we knew that we found a platform to contribute to our cause.
We are happy to have been able to do something 'real' with our birthdays this year."
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Join the growing number of people who support Global Seed Savers!
Invest in our future today.
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