Join us in raising £20,000 to place seed back in the hands of growers this #SeedWeek2026, with every donation doubled between 22 – 29 April ➡️ Click to donate or share with your network.
Today marks the start of Seed Week: our annual invitation to growers, land workers, farmers, bakers, soil regenerators, millers, brewers, and everyday eaters to celebrate the lifeblood of our food system: the seed. We’ll be sharing posts each day on our Instagram, with the help of friends and allies within and beyond the movement, to help seed sovereignty bloom beyond its usual, often overlooked, corner of the online world.
By placing seeds back in the hands of growers, rather than the four companies controlling 60% of global seed, we can revive the climate and community resilience of farmer-led food systems.
Seed Week is an opportunity to strengthen our collective stance against the prevailing seed monopoly, convened by Gaia’s Seed Sovereignty Programme. We’re raising £20,000 to do just that, with every donation doubled by The Big Give’s Earth Raise campaign. Every £5 becomes £10, every £50 becomes £100, and every £250 becomes £500 towards nourishing our animated grassroots movement to reclaim the resilience we desperately need.
Double your donation to seed sovereignty
Each with their hands in UK soils, our Seed Sovereignty Programme coordinators are reskilling food producers in seed production, strengthening regional and national seed networks, reviving endangered crop varieties, and retraining growers to save seed adapted to their bioregions.
This year, the focus is on our shared potential to transform the future of food by placing seed back in the hands of growers, where it rested safely for millennia. Seeds of Resilience: The Future is in Our Hands runs from 22 – 29 April and covers topics from climate resilience to biodiversity and community connection.
To kick things off, members of our Seed Sovereignty Programme team are sharing a story of a seed they hold close, and we warmly invite you to join us in this time-honoured ritual. Seeds and their stories are meant to be shared. As we pass on diverse grains with genetic memories of how to thrive, our own memories carry forward too; memories of how to sow, harvest, cook, and share, told as tips and tales to friends.
Katie’s Welsh Ceirch Du black oat
“What’s blown my mind about them is realising that of course they’re seeds, and they grow into crops, and they’re really important in and of themselves, but also they’re not just seeds and crops: they’re connections to people’s history and heritage and culture.”
Katie, our Wales Seed Sovereignty Coordinator, reflects on the Black Oat Quest she embarked on a few years ago, and the energy it sparked to revive more Welsh rare grains no longer found in the fields.
Randa’s Sardinian broad bean
“Food has been one of the ways I’ve found home wherever I’ve moved to”
Randa, our former Southern England Seed Sovereignty Coordinator (who has recently moved overseas), shares a story of her relationship to the broad bean and speaks of the connection between biodiversity and cultural diversity she has found on her travels. Her words remind us to keep sharing regional seeds, recipes, and stories to nurture our sense of belonging.
Louise’s Scottish landrace parsnip
“Sharing seeds in informal ways creates connection with each other and connection with the lands”
Louise, our former Scotland Seed Sovereignty Coordinator, now supporting our Wales network, tells us how these landrace parsnip seeds help her reflect on seed sovereignty. The patented seeds sold by ‘big ag’ cannot be saved and passed on, restricting the seeds’ ability to adapt over time and inhibiting our own sharing of food.
Holly’s crowd-bred bean flock
“There’s so much joy to be found in diversity”
In her seed story, our Future Resilience Seed Coordinator, Holly, emphasises the holistic benefits of increasing the diversity of our seed for climate resilience, and the delights of sharing these with others as part of the Crowd Breeding Network.
Join us in helping seed get the recognition it deserves between 22 – 29 April by sharing your own seed stories with friends old and new. By transitioning to a grower-led food system, we can rediscover our connection to seed and breathe life into the tales of their existence once more.
Double your donation to seed sovereignty
Thank you for considering a donation this Seed Week.