The Utopian Seed Project

Supporting diversity in food and farming
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The Utopian Seed Project is a hands in the earth non-profit committed to trialing crops and varieties in the Southeast to support and Celebrate diversity in food and farming. OUR VISION is an engaged community of growers, gardeners, farmers, foodies, cooks and chefs (actually, everyone) WHO embrace regional biodiversity for a resilient and delicious food and farming system.

OUR WORK

THe Experimental Farm

We growing many different things in Western North Carolina to explore what could be grown in a more diverse food and farming system. In our farm work we explore emerging crops for this region as well as variety trials for traditional crops. Diversity and experimentation is at our core!

Crop Stories

Crop Stories is our way of speaking about, educating and celebrating the crops that we are working with. Crop Stories includes a crop-specific event series, a crop-specific magazine and a supporting podcast, with a high degree of synergy between these three platforms.

Seed Commons

 Collective responsibility, sharing of knowledge and seed, protection from private enclosure, and distributed, polycentric governance are key features of Seed Commons. Equitable and open-source seed work is at the center of everything we do.

Chef Yunanda Wilson cooking taro at the utopian seed project taro pop-up

TRIAL TO TABLE

The Utopian Seed Project grows a wide range of crops and varieties with the aim of increasing agrobiodiversity into the food and farming system. We host food focused events and partner with incredible local chefs to showcase the crops we’re working with.

SE SEED VIDEO SERIES

This project traveled across 12 states and interviewed over 50 farmers, community gardeners, seed savers, seed growers and seed advocates. The footage was weaved together to tell the story and seed saving of six southern crops: corn, okra, southern peas, collards, sweet potatoes and squash.

WNC grown taro chips!

Would you buy taro if you saw it at the farmers market?

#NCTaro
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Sometimes people ask me about our team.

On one hand we have an enormous community of mentees and apprentices and volunteers and partners and board members and friends and farmers and chefs and mentors and donors and collaborating organizations.

On the other hand it`s mainly just me and Leeza growing some things!

Excited that @chefttlivinandlovin has recently joined our team, bumping our employees to 3! But that`s for another post!!

A rare photo of both of us captured by @untamedscience

#farming #farms #farmers
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We had a lot of fun at our @carolinafarms Southeast Seed Intensive yesterday. Lots of gratitude for an awesome team of seed teachers (pictured here). A great group of seed people in attendance (including a Louisiana delegation!). Sponsorship from @organic_seed_alliance. Venue hosting by @loyfarm_elon. And wonderful cooperating weather!

The @appalachian_seed_collective mobile seed processing trailer was out in full force and many seeds were cleaned 💚

More pics to follow!

#seeds #seedsaving #seedgrowing #seedkeeping #seseed
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It`s been a recent pleasure to support @princetonseedfarm and @ujamaafarms on an Heirloom Gardens Oral History Project.

At an Ujamaa Convening in Kentucky we filmed a short trailer for the project to let people know a little more about it.

Hope you enjoy!

#oralhistory #gardenstories #seeds
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Big thanks to @growingformarketmagazine for covering our work 💚

@jandreatanner did a fantastic job capturing what we do!

Go and subscribe and support their awesome work.

#farming
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Thanks to our Sustaining Sponsors

Two Seeds in a Pod - Sustaining Sponsor
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Sustaining Sponsor