Native Seeds of Yucatan Peninsula

Merida Verde has a big interest in the conservation of biodiversity and the defense of food sovereignty. Therefore, we have participated in different activities related to seeds, local agriculture and Maya culture. We have visited many times the School of Ecological Farming U Yits Ka’an, located in Mani. In 2012, we participated actively in the campaign against transgenics organized by Ma OGM and Greenpeace in the archaeological site of Dzibilchatún.

Seed conservation workshop in Merida.

On Monday 3 December 2012 we were pleased to welcome Dr. David Drenner of Iowa State University to teach a course on seed conservation for urban growers. Dr. Drenner is a germplasm botanist experienced in conservation and utilization of diversity in wild and domesticated plants. He is the germplasm Curator, of the USDA/ARS Plant Introduction Station, Ames, Iowa. He maintains the Amaranthus collection and distribute seeds worldwide for breeding and research projects.
He taught us how to obtain seeds, process them, dry them and keep them. He taught us practical and simple methods to preserve seeds for planting. He also talked about the main problems to preserve the seeds and the importance of seed conservation and exchange among farmers. We are very grateful to Dr. Drenner for his enthusiasm and for sharing their time and experience with us.