A New Chapter, A New Funder: 
Mabuhay, TRIAS Southeast Asia!

We are very happy to announce that TRIAS Southeast Asia is the newest funder of Global Seed Savers Philippines! Guided by their project entitled SEED-CORE (Seed Enterprise & Education for Development – Cooperative Organizing for Resilient Economies), TRIAS is co-implementing this two-year project with GSSP—along with the Labo Progressive Multi-purpose Cooperative (LPMPC) in Labo, Camarines Norte and the First Consolidated Cooperative Along Tañon Seaboard (FCCT) in Toledo City, Cebu.


The SEED-CORE project aims to cultivate local seed systems by revitalizing the community’s use of local, indigenous, and climate-resilient seed varieties, all while actively engaging the youth sector and achieving a 50% gender balance across activities. Through training sessions, SEED-CORE will also strengthen support for organic farming and increase educational awareness of basic seed‑saving practices.

Our Contribution to SEED-CORE

The main goal of SEED-CORE is to raise knowledge and skills in seed saving and gain entrepreneurial skills. With our mandate on seed saving and a proven track record of over 5,000 farmers trained in seed saving, GSSP will lead the technical training sessions. Guided by years of community engagement work, GSSP will provide technical seed-saving training, equip farmers with knowledge on practicing seed selection and seed exchange, and support the setup of seed hubs. Most importantly, TRIAS and GSSP will co-develop a special curriculum for Seed School 5 or seed entrepreneurship. In this issue, take a look at our pilot run of Seed School 1 in partnership with TRIAS Southeast Asia!

Four New Seed Saving Communities 
Created in Camarines Norte

September saw the creation of four (4) new Seed Saving Communities from the province of Camarines Norte. Together with the Labo Progressive MultiPurpose Cooperative (LPMC), the GSSP Luzon team held back-to-back Seed School 1 (SS1) sessions in the villages of San Jose and Fabrica in the town of San Vicente on September 24-27, 2026. These Seed Schools brought together nearly 60 farmers, village leaders, and young people from San Vicente to learn the fundamentals of seed saving. 

Seed School 1 is GSSP’s basic seed saving course, designed to provide participants with essential knowledge on the power of seeds, the importance of saving organically grown seeds, seed science, and practical methods for seed selection, storage, and quality control. Participants also learned how to identify suitable seeds for saving, conduct germination tests, and properly clean, dry, and store seeds to maintain their viability.

Through a series of hands-on exercises, participants identified different seed varieties, learned key concepts and terminology related to seed sovereignty and seed saving, mapped the seeds and plants found in their own backyards and farms, and developed initial plans to strengthen and sustain their emerging Seed Saving Communities.

Participants particularly enjoyed the practical learning activities, which allowed them to apply newly acquired knowledge and skills directly. The interactive sessions fostered very lively and competitive discussions, encouraged the exchange of local knowledge and experiences, and strengthened participants’ appreciation of the vital role that seeds play in ensuring seed and food security, biodiversity conservation, and community resilience.

The 4 new Seed Saving Communities are San Jose San Vicente Seed Saving Association (SJSVSSA), Lugui Integrated Farmer Association SSC (LIFA SSC), CALABS Seed Saving Community (CSSC) and Fabrica Seed Saving Community (FSSC).

A WARM HANDOFF

Last week, some of the Philippines team met with Sherry, our Founder and CEO, to finalize key pieces of our transition. To build on what Sherry started and stay closely connected with our global supporters, we sat down to plan the transfer of our newsletter, social media management, and donor relations to ensure a seamless transition.


Now, as we move into a fully Philippines operation, one of the key changes you'll notice is with our newsletter. This issue marks our warm handoff to the Philippine team! From here onward, all future GSSP newsletters and emails will be sent by Hal Atienza (hal@globalseedsavers.org), our Philippines Executive Director. Please add this address to your contacts—we'd love to stay in touch!


As she now passes the baton to the local team, we acknowledge her years of leadership, hard work, and guidance. We express our most sincere thanks to Sherry. 

Maraming salamat, Sanggumay!


To our community of supporters and donors, thank you for being with us in this mission. We hope you will all continue to join us as we share our journey of saving seeds, strengthening food sovereignty, and empowering our partner farmers! Seed Onwards!

All future GSS Newsletters will come from hal@globalseedsavers.org. Please be sure to add this to your contacts to not miss future news and updates!

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