SEEDversity

Logo Seedversity

SEEDversity

producing, conserving and exchanging seeds to overcome the challenge of climate change

SEEDversity is a cross-media project featuring the voices, images, data and experiences collected by formicablu during many trips to rural areas in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. it is the story of communities that produce, conserve and exchange seeds to overcome the challenge of climate change, soil impoverishment and the need to produce more food.

through videos, audios and interactive maps published on the project website, we learn about the stories of farmers and agronomists who collaborate in bringing back into the field local seeds and varieties, in the selection, crossing and improvement, and in the production of new varieties. this is a “participatory genetic improvement” approach, being experimented by many communities in different parts of the world.

SEEDversity is a formicablu project which won funding through Journalism Grants – The Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme of the European Journalism Center (EJC), with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

the project was produced on the Klynt platform, with graphics by the Emmaboshi studio and original music by Massimo Bassan. Wired Italy was a media partner, participating in the online launch on 16 October 2014 on the occasion of World Food Day. five audio-docs were aired on Radio 3 Scienza at the end of July 2014. the video “Ethiopia’s seed banks and the search for food security” published on SciDev.net. the article “Iran, the new seeds are born without multinationals” published on Wired Italia on 12 December 2014.

project website