Center for Indigenous Foods
We work with farmers and communities to save, preserve, and protect indigenous African seeds, plants, and foods. To support, advocate, and keep African food systems in the hands of African farmers and communities.
Mission
To conserve agrobiodiversity, to preserve community seed systems, and to promote the exchange of native seeds, knowledge, and know-how among farmers and their communities
Vision
To save, and prevent the extinction of native seeds, and foods
Partnerships
In 2024, the Beela Project, in partnership with Trax Ghana received funding from The 11th Hour Project and technical support from SeedChange to implement a project called, “Strengthening Local and Indigenous Food Systems in the Upper East Region of Ghana.” This project focuses on three main project areas: a seed security assessment and seed fair; community seed banking for conservation, production, and exchange of local seeds; and agroecology for food, nutrition, and income security. This funded project is a huge step towards the vision of seed and food sovereignty that is farmer and community lead, in the face of climate change, and the threats of the current intellectual property regimes, and restrictive seed policies.n.
Community Farmer Leads
Our goal is to build, support, and strengthen farmer-managed seed systems. Our farmer leads are leaders in their communities who are excited and interested in strengthening their local and indigenous seed and food system. Our farmer leads are provided with the training, tools and resources to conduct a seed security assessment, promote agroecology, and work towards building a collective community seed bank.
“Seed is not just the source of life. It is the very foundation of our being”
— Vandana Shiva