Community Seed Bank Labs – Workshop funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ project Seeds of Growth (Project ID: KA210-ADU-1727BE52)
This presentation describes Elkana’s work to conserve Georgia’s indigenous crop varieties through the Seed Ark conservation farm and an associated Community Seed Bank and Seed Library network. Elkana (est. 1994) runs a 4.8 ha Seed Ark farm where threatened landraces are multiplied in organic conditions, maintained in collection plots, and renewed annually. Seed bank material is available free to farmers under a seed‑share principle (take one portion, return 1.5). Elkana provides technical support, promotion and value‑chain development. The slides outline Georgia’s loss of local varieties under Soviet specialization, the Seed Ark program’s cooperation with scientists and farmers, and benefits of cultivating landraces: conserving agrobiodiversity, strengthening farmer seed systems and traditional knowledge, improving nutrition and soil fertility, reducing agrochemical reliance, stabilizing harvests, and increasing family income. The presentation also notes Elkana’s participation in a Seed Libraries project (with Seminkovna), establishing eight seed libraries in Samtskhe‑Javakheti in October 2024 and facilitating seed exchange among about 600 participants.
Key topics: community seed banks, seed libraries, agrobiodiversity, seed conservation, farmer-based seed systems, seed exchange, Georgia, Seed Ark
