Seeds in Common

Seeds in Common, based in Denver, CO, supports current and aspiring seed keepers and food growers in their commitment to nourish healthy communities, care for land and water, and grow seed diversity. Founded in 2014 as the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, the organization has since changed its name but remains committed to educating and supporting food growers and seed keepers. Recognizing that seed biodiversity has been in decline for the past three generations due in part to the introduction of industrial agriculture, the group offers online Seed School 101 and Grain School 101 courses to teach gardeners, food growers, market farmers, educators, and anyone concerned with accessing healthy food and seeds, an opportunity to reawaken this nearly forgotten art. The group also offers a course on preparing and enjoying ancient and heritage grains, raises awareness about the threat of corporate seed patenting, and provides tips on how to start a seed library and other resources.

Although based in Colorado, Seeds in Common defines its region of service by the Colorado and Rio Grande watersheds. In 2022, the group changed its name and restructured its staff, board, and organizational framework to be representative of the communities it serves. Aligning itself with movements of justice and equity, Seeds in Common prioritizes leadership from, and resource redistribution to, communities that have been forcibly marginalized through the extraction of human, ecological, financial and cultural wealth. Through a Native American Agriculture Grant, the group provides Water Catchment System installations to 40 Indigenous beginning farmers and ranchers in the ancestral lands of the Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo and Ute Nations. With a grant from the CLIF Family Foundation, the group has created an in-person curriculum — Seed Saving For Food Security — offering hands-on lessons with supplemental material on seed biology and genetics, health, nutrition and environmental impact.

For more information:

What are Seed Libraries? – Colorado Country Life, 2024