WORKSHOP: SEED SAVING -- NEED, SIMPLE TECHNIQUES

Experience sharing by Gaurang Barrot (Foundation for Environment Conservation, India)

आधी बीज एकलें    बीज अंकुरलें रोप वाढलें. एका बीजापोटीं, तरु कोटी कोटी जन्म घेती, सुमनें फळें. व्यापुनि जगता तूंहि अनंता बहुविध रूपें घेसी, घेसी परि अंती, ब्रम्ह एकलें.

In the beginning there was the seed all alone, The seed sprouted and  the plant grew From the womb of one seed, millions of trees are born, along with flowers and fruits. You pervade the entire world o Almighty, in multitude of forms and shapes, but in the end, there is only one eternal Truth.

The unity and diversity of all beings has being captured in this beautiful Abhang (devotional poem/song) written by Shantaram Athavale from the film Sant Tukaram. It beautifully captures the importance of a seed: all alone in the beginning  and then giving rise to many.

The seed contains the blueprint of the plant. The seed is responsible for propagating life.

 When the proper conditions become available the seed germinates bringing forth the life that was lying dormant in it.. On maturity the plant (a flowering plant) gives rise to the seed and the cycle continues.

The importance of seeds for  all of us cannot be stressed enough. Most of the food that we eat today has its origins in seeds. Pulses, fruits, vegetables you name it most of them if not all start their lives from the humble seed. As urban gardeners it is vitally important that  we understand the seed and the process of seed saving . In today's modern world where genetic modifications are carried out in the labs and seeds are being patented by the multinationals, it becomes our responsibility to save the indigenous varieties of seeds before we lose them for ever.

So join us in an introductory workshop on Seed Saving which will show you some of the simplest  methods of saving seeds of common vegetables and plants, for personal use. 

SPEAKER:
Gaurang Barrot (Foundation for EnvironmentConservation, India)

The workshop will be conducted by Gaurang Barrot (some of you may have attended his seed saving session at MNP on World Kitchen Garden day) who will share his experience and knowledge about saving seeds. Please note that this is not a rigorous technical workshop. Gaurang will share his experience, observations and knowledge gathered from work on his farm and share basic seed saving techniques.

Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• What is organic all about?
• What are seeds?
• Why do we need to save them?
• GM/Hybrid , native seeds
• Type of plants with respect to seed saving
• Thumb rules for collecting seeds
• General methods of saving seeds.
• Storage of seeds/ Dormancy period
• Sources of native seeds.

DATE: Sunday 20th October 2013

TIME: 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM

VENUE: Provincial House AV Hall, Ground Floor, Don Bonsco High School, Matunga.

CONTRIBUTION: ₹350/- This minimum contribution covers our expenses towards breakfast, venue charges, hiring charges for audio and visual aids etc. You are welcome to contribute more if you can. Having said that concession is also available to those who really need it. If you need financial support, please write to us on urbanleaves at gmail dot com, share your situation with us. We will consider the requests on a case by case basis and will get back to you.

MODE OF PAYMENT

CHEQUE:
Please draw a cheque in favor of  "VIDYA VAARIDHI TRUST" and courier to:

VIPUL SANGHAVI
Vardhaman Plastochem Pvt. Ltd.,
Kasturi Bldg, Sanghavi Corporate Park,
Behind USV Ltd. , Off Govandi Station Road,
Govandi (E),
Mumbai - 400088

Please write the Participants name (in case the cheque is sent by someone else), registration number and contact number on the back of the cheque
Please mention the following on the envelope:
"URBAN LEAVES: CONTRIBUTION FOR SEED SAVING WORKSHOP" 

ECS TRANSFER

Bank:	State Bank of Hyderabad
IFSC Code of Bank:	SBHY0020408
Address of the Branch:	1st Road, Near M-Ward Office, Chembur Mumbai 400071
Account Name:	VIDYA VAARIDHI TRUST
Type of Bank A/c:	Savings
Saving Account No:	52009032981
PAN Number of Trust:	AAATV2294B

Please send us the details of the transfer by email

CASH
Cash can be deposited with Urban Leaves volunteers located in various parts of Mumbai. Please select the desired location in the registration form. You will be emailed the details of the Urban Leaves volunteer to contact for depositing the contribution.

REGISTRATION

Please fill the form at the link below to register for the workshop. 

Please ensure that you fill in your proper email address as further communication from us will be sent to this address.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION FORM LINK


REF:Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azy3W4V_-Dk
REF:Image: http://www.clker.com/clipart-world-in-our-hands-1.html