My lunch date is not your average artist. Ok, is there is even such a thing as an average artist? Perhaps it’s better to say she’s one of the most unique, comical performers we’ve ever had the chance to encounter. Her work is unabashedly bizarre and deeply funny, with hints of emotional depth that leave you ruminating in your own reflections days after you’ve experienced her work.

Jibz had me meet her at a place called DINER in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. From the outside it looked like an old barn or shed, and the inside felt like an old boat, the perfect setting for a Canadian girl like me to bask in the glamorous glow of the NY artist. The thing is, Jibz is disarming, grounded and laugh-out-loud hilarious without even a pinch of pretension. Her glamour resides in her earnestness, which makes her delightfully easy to speak with. After we shared a perfectly locavore meal in the DINER/boat we chatted outside in the New York sun about her new work, Eternal Quadrangle, what’s next for her, and the movable intricacies of her artistic process.

Eternal Quadrangle premieres at The New Museum in New York City tomorrow, May 18, 2012. 

Kindle Project: Ok, tell me about your new piece. It has a great name! Eternal Quadrangle!

Jibz Cameron: Dynasty Handbag goes on a dating game show and the contestants are a disembodied brain, a stray dog, a professional golfer and the grim reaper.

KP: Are they all played by puppets?

JC: No, they’re animated creatures and I do all the voices. I ask them all questions and they use the trope of the dating game show where there are exchanges like, “Bachelor number 4: look at bachelor number 2 and tell me, if he were a kind of animal what would he be?” You know, that kind of stuff…but mostly the ideas behind it are about when I get locked into thinking there’s a certain way to think or act that’s a solution to whatever problem I’m having instead of being really open. I found that when I was going through a lot of stuff last year I kept thinking you need to deal with it in this way which would be the representation of the golfer who is all ambition and focus and success and I don’t have any of those desires [giggles]. Or like being really fatalistic–we’re all going to die anyways so who gives a shit what happens. Or the dog is self-pity, just wallowing and wallowing. And the brain is just…it’s like on speed, it’s not on speed…

KP: The brain is where speed was born?

JC: Ya, it wears running shoes. The brain [character] is more trying to figure things out – trying to attack everything, you know all [she makes many funny mumbled sounds]. The whole thing with the dating game is about the relationship with the self. It’s very weird that we lock ourselves into small ways of thinking and compartmentalizing. And on a larger scale I think compartmentalizing is really bad news for everything.

KP: Well, it disconnects you from everything you’re experiencing when you choose to only experience or view something from one of those little identities.

JC: And it’s also just sort of universally kind of fucked up. We want to identify things and label them and make sure we’re in control of what they are. And have them be tidy. I guess that’s sort of the impetus of how this one [project] came about. I can’t tell you the trajectory of where theses ideas were invented.

KP: What’s so interesting hearing you talk about it having seen other Dynasty Handbag videos is that you describe it so articulately and with so much emotion and it’s so clear. If you were describing this to me without me knowing your work I’d be like, oh yes, I’m about to experience something I can totally relate to and tap into, but the whole visual and the character of Dynasty Handbag is absurd in so many ways!

JC: Ya, it is absurd. I also just like comedy so I try and make things funny.

KP: She’s super funny. The first time I saw your videos I was completely entranced and quite uncomfortable all at the same time, which is what I love about it. And then you get to know DH a little more – less uncomfortable and you can kind of find you way in to relate to it. That was my experience of it, but I remember watching it for the first time and I couldn’t take my eyes off this thinking you have this magical courage about you to take these understandings of yourself and present them in these entirely comedic, colorful, absurd and unusual ways. That’s my experience.

JC: Hmmm, that’s cool! That’s a pretty good goal I think.

KP: One of the notes I wrote this morning was that you have so much courage [she winces] You know…not in this pedestal queen of Williamsburg way, but it takes a combination of courage and grace to make comedy absurd and meaningful at the same time. It’s hard to do.

JC: The comedy part of it makes it accessible. It’s a safe place for me to go to explore these things. If I didn’t have that padding I don’t know if I’d be able to go into it. It makes it accessible for other people too.

KP: What about courage?

JC: Seems a little distant. But, I guess I do work on things in my life that aren’t directly related to my art practice that I do feel takes a lot of courage and that informs what I do in my art practice. I don’t sit down and think…I’m gonna go really deep today. The stuff just comes and then I realize it’s coming because of something I need to look at. Or sometimes the story will tell itself to me after the fact; oh that’s why that guy needed to be in this thing – of course?!It also doesn’t really matter what it means to anyone else. It’s so subjective. It doesn’t really matter what I means to anyone else. But if it’s sitting with you, fine.

KP: But, you keep making stuff for people to enjoy, interact with and consume in some way.

JC: Yes

KP: So it must mean that people are responding in some way.

JC: Ya, I feel like I get a lot of good response. But, I also feel that I care less and less about that.

KP: What does a good response look like for you?

JC: You know, people throwing money at me. People killing themselves because I can’t always respond to them as my fans.

[We both laugh a lot…]

JC: I get really high off performing and when people come up to me after saying “You’re so great, so inspiring, I laughed so hard” I love it when people tell me how hard they laughed. That’s the best. Or when people tell me they’re inspired…For me the thrill is really in the moment. I definitely feel if I can’t captivate an audience I feel very bummed out.

KP: Is this performance art?

JC: I guess so.

KP: I lived in Quebec for a long time and Quebec is really obsessed with performance art, which is really funny to me cause it’s this label, this term that I never really understood.

JC: I don’t get it. When people ask me what I do I usually say I’m a performer cause that’s what I do. I also act in other people’s work. Ya, it’s performance art. One time a show I made was billed as “is this performative comedy or comedic performance?’ As a joke…It was a commentary. It is funny but I don’t think of myself as a comedian at all. I think of myself as a performer.

KP: Comedy is such a weirdly specific genre.

JC: But it’s so much like that thing of compartmentalization. Look at someone like Andy Kaufman who said he wasn’t a comedian. And he wasn’t. But, he performed not plays, but things in a theatrical setting. All the trappings of it make it really confusing for people. People ask me, ‘what kind of plays do you perform in?’ And the answer can go all over the place.

KP: I have one more question about the dating game– I was thinking about the dating show idea because maybe I’ve been on the Internet dating sites once or twice.

JC: Maybe…

KP: Maybe, or maybe not…this interview is not about me! But it is [your piece] about longing. [With Internet dating] you’re longing to connect with someone, or fuck someone of whatever it is you’re looking for on the Internet. But you have to make yourself fit into a certain box, sometimes quite literally you have to type your shit into these fucking boxes and then try and to attract the right fly to your strip basically.

[We both said, “Eww” and laughed out loud for a few good moments.]

KP: The whole notion completely freaks me out, but there is tremendous pressure in the dating world to make yourself into one thing for one person, and another for another person. I could see myself making four different profiles based on your four different suitors. It really struck me that we’re desperate to relate in one way, but we’re not one thing. Maybe this is the evident piece of your new work but we need a combination of these four archetypes to be in one person.

JC: Now you’re writing my ending that I never got – shit…

KP: Sorry…

JC: It doesn’t end neatly. Now you’ve given me a better ending!!

KP: What the ending?

JC: I can’t tell you! Wait…it does kind of end that way. Ok. I’m good. I got it.

I watched her brain work and ramble for a few minutes and couldn’t quite follow – but it seemed she was having an important revelation. Thank you Ok Cupid. We finished chatting in the sun and I left the conversation wishing I would be in New York to see the premiere of Eternal Quadrangle and to witness Dynasty Handbag in action would be only further confirmation of her uniqueness. It’s a small triumph for Kindle Project to know Jibz and to have the opportunity to collaborate with her. In a world full of absurdity, we can all use more creativity like Jibz’s to get us through.

Be sure to look out for Jibz’s performance in Stratford, England as Cassandra in the Wooster Group’s production of Torilus and Cressida.

www.dynastyhandbag.com

Delving into the role money plays in the Occupy movement and, more specifically, uncovering what role philanthropists have in Occupy’s grand scheme was something I knew would require careful thought. In wanting to dissect some questions and to better understand the intersections between philanthropy and the Occupy movement it was a natural choice for us to approach Mike Bonanno of the Yes Men and Farhad Ebrahimi of the Chorus Foundation.

Farhad Ebrahimi is a philanthropist, activist, musician, lover of film and literature, supporter of science, hipster, and bicycle snob who lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Farhad comes from a background of unambiguous financial privilege, and he believes that responding to that privilege in an equitable and just manner is going to be a significant part of his life's work. He's especially passionate about issues of climate, energy, and environmental health, which he approaches primarily through his role as the founder and trustee chair of the Chorus Foundation, a domestic funder based in Boston. As a member of the 1% who stands with the 99%, he's also been heavily involved in Occupy Boston since the first tent was pitched in Dewey Square. Farhad graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics with Computer Science.

Mike Bonanno of the Yes Men

Mike is one half of the Yes Men, a notoriously mischievous pair that crafts brilliant hoaxes often involving impersonation of leaders of big corporations who prioritize profits over all else. You may have heard of their films, The Yes Men (2003) and The Yes Men fix the World (2009), in which audiences get to be inside the heads of these two comedic, culture-jamming activists as they craftily sneak their way into mainstream media to expose the truths behind mega corporations. Most notably, perhaps, was Andy Bichlbaum’s (the other half of the Yes Men duo) appearance on BBC World in December of 2004 where he posed as a Dow Chemical spokesman announcing that the company was finally taking responsibility for the Bhopal disaster. This hoax led to wide media coverage not only for the Yes Men but also for issues they were trying to address.

As committed fans of smart humor and creative activism, it has been an entertaining and motivating experience to have the Yes Men project, Yes Lab as a Kindle Project grantee. The Yes Lab is the fertile training ground for the Yes Men to share the tactics, ideas, thinking, strategizing and thoughtful mayhem-making with other activists groups who are looking for new ways of engaging in direct action. Since the beginning of Occupy Wall Street the Yes Lab’s have been getting actions off the ground.

When Occupy Wall Street began last year our team spent a lot of time in conversation about it. As per our usual Kindle Project style, we generated a lot of questions. We wondered what the outcome of these occupations would be, if it was appropriate to even expect or anticipate “outcomes,” and how the world of philanthropy might fit into it. We knew that foundations and individuals were compelled to put money into Occupy and we had a lot of questions about how that all might work, and how it was going to work in the long run. We questioned language, tone, actions, and efficacies as we wondered if foundations who were interested in supporting Occupy, could be welcomed into the movement or if that would be perceived as antithetical to its goals.

To understand this issue it was important to first ask: “Does Occupy need money?” I had heard from one Occupy activist in NYC that it was best for philanthropists to stay away from funding Occupy directly. It was more important for them to fund the groups and grassroots organizations whose work aligned with the Occupy spirit. Farhad had a similar opinion: that Occupy could use money to support logistical needs but that where funders could really support the movement as a whole was by making connections in a non-transactional way with Occupiers. “I think people on the funding side and the field side need to just keep talking to each other. Trust and knowing will bring the transaction. It will help to shift the power dynamic: Folks looking for funding can look for comrades–that’s the ideal. Share what you’re doing and don’t think that just because they’re not funding you for one cycle they aren’t interested in what you’re doing.” What Farhad was addressing, earnestly, was the need for relational support and connection as opposed to merely transaction support.

Since we operate on similar values at Kindle Project, what Farhad said really resonated. However, Mike had a slightly different slant of how the relationship between philanthropy and Occupy had been developing. He, like Farhad, was witnessing and experiencing the importance of relationship building within the movement but also noted that: “OWS is sidestepping this [traditional asking for funding] dynamic–they are not trying to appeal to funders, they have no demands, but because it’s a groundswell they were able to get a lot of money and even more pizza right away. They’ve created a place that brings all the organizations together that have been fractured – what’s weird about the non-profit sector is that they’re competing for funds.”

(Video above courtesy of the Yes Lab site. The action with Makana in Hawaii at the APEC World Leaders dinner was what Mike described as one of the serendipitous moments of creative action as a part of OWS.)

Both Farhad and Mike shared accounts of the early days of Occupy, in Boston and NYC respectively, and how each was involved. For Farhad, the early days were filled with inquisitiveness, and the desire to help out and be of service in the “media bull pen” as a representative of the 1%. Mike explained that the Yes Labs arrived on the scene early as well: “Around the beginning of the occupation we stared to participate in some affinity groups that were doing good natured actions that seemed like fun.” He explained that these actions could be another story about what was going on downtown, one that wasn’t centered around protesters being pepper sprayed. They both discussed the fact that being involved also meant working with logistics: establishing kitchens, cleaning the areas, organizing shelter, and obtaining food. Setting up the logistical structure for a movement like this comes with a real sense of urgency, and what was evident in speaking with both of our interviewees was that conceptual goals for the movement were quickly fused with the immediate needs of the Occupiers. This added another complex layer to where money, funding, and donations fit into the picture.

Source: Globalpost.com, Photographer: Jordan Helton

Farhad explained the particulars of what it meant to be a part of Occupy Boston every day for a couple months. Knowing the ins and outs of all the logistics, the big goals, the small triumphs, and all the dynamics in between and also where money fits into this big picture. Farhad explained that money could be and was used for basic needs, but that when people were evicted from the Boston camp things became very contentious. There was an interest in the community to support these people, but questions remained regarding the process of funding. How to go about giving somebody money, and how to decide who could become a member. Questions like these poured forth from the NYC Occupy camps as well complicated queries about decision making for a group that was lacking—and championing their lack of—central leadership, and whose General Assembly was still struggling with structure. From here questions were raised regarding what to do with the money that came into Occupy, whether it was necessary, and how it could be used. A key question came out of these experiences and continues to be relevant today. How can the old but persistent funder/recipient power dynamic be mitigated in this setting?

The potential problems are clear. When approaching funders to support an organization or project, hopeful applicants often tailor their words to promote their mission in a way that they think would best appeal to funders. Doing so, however, causes the application to lose a measure of authenticity, and in turn both parties lose out. Both funder and recipients lose the opportunity to form partnerships, and for funders to know the work they support in detail. If the relationship, as opposed to the financial transaction, is made top priority, then this funder/recipient playing field has a greater chance of being leveled out. The newly formed group, Occupy Philanthropy, though still in its developmental stages, is tackling some of these harder questions about how a community of funders can best support and relate to the Occupy movement. As Farhad points out, Occupy Philanthropy is still forming and it might take some time for this group of funders to delve more deeply into the radical funding that may be required as the Occupy movement continues to shift and change.

Yes Men, Andy and Mike dressed as 'brokers' at OWS in October 2011 (Source: http://yeslab.org/brokersandpolice)

For Kindle, being on the periphery of the Occupy Philanthropy group (participating in the listserv, conference calls etc.), it has been interesting to feel like we’re a part of a group of people who are engaging with creative thinking around money and “the movement.” For Mike, “the Occupy Philanthropy group is a good place [for funders] to start–concentrating on funding and targeting where they could apply some lubrication to the movement.” Each funder, then, needs to align their funding to what matters most to them, and I think Occupy Philanthropy is trying to address and tackle some of these answers.

Just as Farhad urges those in search of grants to find comrades in funders, he too makes a call-out to funders to “walk the talk.” He speaks about the frequent trend in blind investments many foundations engage in: “Most foundations only give 5-10% of what they have every year – the rest is invested, and not often in investments that correlate with the mission [of the foundation].” He goes on to explain: “This is how you end up with foundations that spend money trying to shut down coal plants, but who have their funds invested in trying to set up new ones.” Farhad reminds us, the funders, to invest and act with thoughtfulness, which will ultimately be the foundation of a new economy.

With Mike’s trademark Yes Labs humor, buoyancy, and creative direct actions and Farhad’s transparent, earnest, and committed dedication, it’s no wonder that this movement is still going, shifting, shaping, and questioning. Where money and philanthropy fit in is quite clear after talking to these two – funders need to get more transparent and more risky in their funding – but they can’t do that without fostering real relationships with the people and organizations they wish to fund. According to both Mike and Farhad, funding Occupy directly will be less and less useful and it is up to funders to make commitments to the organizations who are working at the grassroots level to help the shifting and growing momentum that Occupy ignited.

(Source for photo of Farhad: Lindsay Metivier)

Kindle Project has had a long relationship with Oakland’s United Roots: an organization that engages Oakland, California’s marginalized youth with media, arts, career training, and wellness services. We have watched this organization change and grow over the years and are perpetually motivated and impressed by their mission and commitment to their community. So much of what United Roots does is based in personal storytelling; using media, music, and movement to express a personal narrative. United Roots leaders engage in these forms, always practicing what they preach, modeling the impact of these tools for the youth they work with. Last year we featured the story of Galen Paterson, United Roots’ Co-Executive Director, and this year we’re sharing Co-Executive Director Simmy Makhijani’s story. Galen and Simmy’s personal histories weave together the complex and deeply passionate stories of the greater Oakland community. It is personal stories such as these that allow us to not only learn more about the leaders of the organizations that we support, but to understand the reasons why they do the work they do with such fervor. Over the coming months, we’ll be exploring more stories of the people behind the projects we fund.

Simmy Makhijani

Simmy is Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of United Roots, and is also currently completing her PhD in the Social and Cultural Anthropology Department at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

In speaking with Simmy, I received an elaborate and well-illustrated account of Oakland’s rich history and why it is what it is today. Through her broad knowledge of the layered history of Oakland and its movements for civil rights, justice, and racial and economic equality, Simmy uncovers the current context of the area’s diverse and often adversarial neighborhoods. Simmy shared some troubling statistics with me: “The moment we’re in now in Oakland (is one) where one person is killed every four days, 9 out of 10 male, 8 out of 10 African-American, 8 out of 10 shot by some kind of firearm, 3 out of 4 killed on a public street, and 30% of those killed are young adults between ages 18-25.”  (See urbanstrategies.org for Homicides in Oakland Report.)

Oakland, California has a special almost frenetic energy to it, not only because of its staggering crime rates, but also because of its rich cultural, artistic, and activist presence. Knowing the kinds of adversities that the young people are facing there, and that the mission of United Roots is to help them express themselves, it’s no wonder that Simmy is moving her work towards a more central focus on healing. “Many frontline activists skilled at violence mediation have retreated; youth leaders such as those of our Turf Unity project are pulling back right now,” she said, “having lost many of their peers in the process of conflict resolution efforts. In this time of retreat, prayer circles and meditation groups are forming, and different moments of self-reflection are emerging naturally.”

In speaking with Simmy, her academic prowess was evident, yet, the ways in which she combines her PhD, her activism and her role as Co-Executive of Director of United Roots, are clear responses to her holistic understanding of what this community needs. The situation is so dangerous there that even the frontline activists are pulling out, and to Simmy, this points clearly to the sign that deeper levels of involvement must begin to take shape.

I asked her about her current academic focus and how it intersects with her activism, and she replied:

“So, returning to my PhD this semester has been about using the resources of the Academy, the privilege of having had this education, for the purpose of looking at how practices of social liberation and spiritual liberation have together created Movement, whether it be the Civil Rights or Black Power movements, Zapatista, or anti-colonial, landless unorganized labor movements of India.

Even more, what I’m interested in is how these intersections relate to the young people that come through the doors of United Roots. What would happen if we were able to provide, alongside our mainstay of programs in the media arts, a developed curriculum that offers context of these rich, powerful histories and practices? What would be possible if the youth themselves, with such context, were able to draw from, perhaps even reinvent their own understanding of mindfulness, using the arts as a means for relating to their everyday experiences and for experimenting with ideas of social revolution in the present? What kind of healing could emerge? What kind of creativity? What other possibilities for change? What might the streets of Oakland look like then?”

While Simmy is in the process of asking these questions and beginning to plan how these will be answered in the United Roots context, it is clear that this community is ready for this kind of inward learning as a part of the much-needed healing process.

Spiritual activism is a necessary bridge to what is taking place on the streets in Oakland—people are trying to find ways to heal, and a large part of the work of United Roots is to help bridge that gap between crisis and healing. From my conversations with Simmy and Galen and when visiting the studios myself last year, it’s clear how media, music production and creative community have a very serious and impactful role in the healing process of this community.

When a crisis like a shooting takes place in Oakland, United Roots focuses their efforts on bringing young people into their space and into the studio as soon as possible. This is one of their most marked accomplishments—using media and the arts as a direct tool to deal with trauma. By engaging youth in the creative process during a time of trauma, they are offering not only a tangible avenue for healing, but also the means with which to communicate positive messages from and about their community in an otherwise volatile context.  A quick browse on the United Roots website gives great insight into these accomplishments and their sustainable effects on the young people who are lucky enough to have found United Roots as a safe place.

“We don’t know what the fate of UR will be”, Simmy commented. “Crises on the streets as the older conflict resolution methods aren’t working, foundations are shutting down, but at the same time things are opening up, we’re gaining a larger public stage and there’s a responsibility for any of us doing this work. It’s time to step up, learn from our history so that we can be a part of building that future.” Simmy’s words echo the honest sentiment of United Roots itself. Steeped in committed optimism with an innate knowing of the micro and macro changes needed to make Oakland a safe and nourishing place to live.

Simmy provided the links below for further information about some of the issues discussed above:
Siddha Yoga Prison Project
Catalyst Project
Spirit in Action (pilot launched in San francisco before it went nationwide)
Training for Change
Highlander Research and Education Center

There are many different ways to gauge the success of a documentary. We’ve seen success in the form of direct action, awareness building, and a film’s use a tool for policy change. For the most part, the success of a documentary is measured by how many festivals take it, how many screenings it has, where it has its premiere, how many jury and audience awards it receives, and how and where it is distributed.

In the case of Adam Horowitz’s recent film, which Kindle Project helped to fund, the scope of success reaches much further. Though Adam is proud and excited about the accolades he’s received recently for Nuclear Savage: the Islands of Secret Project 4.1, he explains that his greatest success lies far outside the glamorous festival circuit.

Nuclear Savage is a heartbreaking and intimate ethnographic portrait of Pacific Islanders struggling for dignity and survival after of decades of intentional radiation poisoning at the hands of the American government. Relying on recently declassified U.S. government documents and devastating survivor testimony, this true, untold detective story reveals how U.S. scientists turned a Pacific paradise into a radioactive hell, using Marshall Islanders as human guinea pigs for three decades in order to study the effects of nuclear fallout on human beings.  Nuclear Savage is a shocking tale that pierces the heart of our democratic principles. 
(Source: http://www.nuclearsavage.com).

Heartbreaking is the most poignant word that could be used to describe this film, and in my conversations with Adam this word has been uttered more than once. I’ve often wondered how he has the stamina for this subject matter; the stamina to expose himself to worst kinds of atrocities that humans inflict on one another. The people of the Marshall Islands have faced similar catastrophic fates as the victims who underwent Nazi medical tests during WWII. Adam was there to tell the world about it. These days, his perseverance comes from the success of the film – not just from the attention it’s getting from the international circuit, but from what’s happening in the Islands themselves.

Still Image from Nuclear Savage (Source: nuclearsavage.com)

When I asked Adam if the film was being screened in the South Pacific, he said: “They’ve been showing it every day on television for months. They showed it at the Pacific Island conference of Presidents – now they’re broadcasting the film in several Pacific Island Nations – showing in the Federated States of Micronesia, (which includes Chuuk, which used to be Truk), and also in Republic of Palau, which has history of anti nuclear peace movement.” For him, this is his greatest success. The film is being copied and bootlegged all over the region, and even being screened on television with the watermark print of it being a preview copy. No matter to Adam, his film was made for the islanders and it is from there that the possibility of political change is most possible.

So often, the purpose of a socially conscious documentary is to affect change, and we’ve spoken about this a number of times in the past on our blog. Where the nuance lies in Adam’s project is that even though festival audiences are responding very well to the film – being engaged, asking questions and wanting to know what they can do – the reality, as Adam explains, is that there is very little for us to do from here. “The US government is like a dragon and we’re all just little ants…it’s such a gigantic force. I think people are asking all over the world what we can do. When the American drones blow up our village, what can we do? I think just the education and awareness by itself is useful to shatter this myth of America as being the knight on the white horse, always doing the right thing. Trying to get the US to take responsibility is a gigantic mission.”

The feeling of hopelessness when watching a film such as Nuclear Savage can be momentarily overwhelming: it’s nearly impossible to understand this degree of atrocity. Seeing the physical manifestations of these medical tests; babies born grossly deformed, cancer-ravaged families and environmental disaster to name a few. The film screened at IDFA this past year and Adam and I shared a cynical laugh about the climate of the films there: IDFA is colloquially known as the most depressing of all doc festivals because there you can see a handful of films on any given day that expose massive atrocities taking place around the globe. This is all the more reason why Adam is focusing his success on the bootlegged versions of his film that are making the rounds on the Islands, and more importantly, that this film is making these rounds at the perfect time.

The U.S. government is pushing the Marshall Islanders to move back to the contaminated island. When I asked why, Adam explained that if the islanders do move back to the currently radioactive island, the government can close the book on this issue and sweep any responsibility for the contamination and experiments under the rug. “This film coming out there gave them a big life boat in their fight to not repatriate.”

For Adam, this film is just what the islanders needed to convince US officials that what the US is trying to do is reprehensible and criminal. He has not been back to the islands since the release of the film, as the film now acts as its own advocate, and its effects do not rely on his presence. Meanwhile, audiences outside of the islands do need Adam present to help explain why and how truths like these have been allowed to be buried for so long. The truths that Adam’s film exposes are too painful for most of us: not knowing is easier than knowing, and this is what makes getting the film out there a challenge.

In my conversation with Adam it was clear that for audiences in North America and Europe that have seen the film there is an increasing interest in awareness building around hidden issues such as these. He also explained that while Canadian and European festivals have taken the most serious interest in the project, it remains a difficulty to get the film screened in the U.S.

Adam Jonas Horowitz

Adam is based out of New Mexico, also the home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a seemingly natural context for this film to screen. Not the case. Adam explained that, “this state gets a huge part of its income from nuclear business…They could show (the film) for free because PBS funded it. PBS is funded by military industrial contractors, and subcontractors of nuclear labs – they know where their bread and butter comes from.” The film was funded in part by the branch of PBS that focuses its programming on ‘diverse’ content. But, as Adam went on the explain, “it’s not public TV. It’s military industrial television. They aren’t going to piss off their funders by showing this film.” This is part of the complex nature of a project like Adam’s and awareness in the U.S. and abroad will satisfy his hopes for the film. The true success of this film lies in potential of changing the political atmosphere in the Marshall Islands which is possible because the region is so small. We will continue to keep you informed of any updates on the success of Nuclear Savage and how it is affecting change in the lives of the islanders who need that support the most.

Upcoming screenings of Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1
• April 17, 2012 – Cinema Planeta Film Festival in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Adam will be in attendance at this screening.
http://www.cinemaplaneta.org/
• April 25, 26, 2012 – FFEM: Montreal Film Festival on the Environment, Montreal, Canada. Adam will be in attendance at these screenings.
http://www.cinemaduparc.com/english/prochainemente.php?id=ffem#nuclear
• Spring 2012, date to be confirmed – Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe
http://www.ccasantafe.org/cinematheque/coming-soon
• May 4-13, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada
http://www.doxafestival.ca/

From the past several weeks of focus on seeds, one lesson is clear: in order to combat the rapid control and very concerning prominence of corporate agriculture businesses we must find ways to interact with seeds at the local level. Our interviewees have urged us to make it personal, to connect with seeds, and to consider them as being an integral part of what will make the movement of local agriculture thrive. Due to the fact that Genetically Modified seeds are designed not to reproduce, the action of saving local seeds is an essential part of the solution. To this end we wanted to provide you with an introductory resource on how to start saving your own seeds and begin investing in seed banks in your local region.

In thinking about who could help us get informed about starting a seed bank we were lucky enough to meet Paul Massey, who is the Director of the Regenerations Botanical Garden in Hawaii. Paul’s five-year-old organization stemmed from a love of his area and a sense of urgency: “falling in love with native flora that is highly endemic led to a realization that a lot of our natural places are highly degraded and are under high pressure from invasive species. It’s a time where we have to capture as much bio diversity as we can before it’s lost.” Since its inception Regenerations had a great deal of success and is continuing to grow it’s impressive seed libraries, seed gardens and engaging the communities with these issues. You can read about their programs here.

Below you’ll find Paul’s How-To Guide. When sharing this he only cautioned one thing – to remember that the process of developing relationships with seeds is not linear! Each local region has its own specific characteristics and he reminds us that there is no one way to approach this knowledge seeking. But rather, many areas of knowledge and experimentation must be sought on simultaneous tracks. From the very personal use of seeds, to the development of a business in a seed bank, what Paul shares with us are reminders, guideposts, and places to jump from. For those of us that are novice seed savers his How-To is an excellent place to start and I’ve found nothing quite like it in all my online research.

Pasilla Bajio Peppers: Trying new varieties for your locale is fun and rewarding–especially when the experiment produces viable seed that can be shared and saved. This Mexican variety performed excellently in Kaua`i Community Seed Bank's 2011 pepper "try-um"

Tools of the trade: Seed saving can be successfully accomplished with a simple low-tech tool kit; pictured here are the sieves, mesh bags, airtight containers, and silica gel beads we use to clean and dry seed.

Take it to the garden: The outdoor classroom is essential to training the next generation of seed stewards; here, students in the 2011 Kaua`i Seed Basics Workshop get the scoop on volunteer operation of the Regenerations Seed Garden in Kalihiwai.

For the planters: A community seed bank is only relevant if its plant collection represents the preferences of the growers it serves

Keeping track of diversity: One of the most important functions of a community seed bank is to record and keep organized related information about its plant collection. Cuttings of 40 taro cultivars is labeled and ready for planting at the Kaua`i Community College farm; the planting was duplicated at 3 other locations.

Kaua`i Community Seed Bank Lab, Kapa`a, Hawai`i: Local decentralized management of important seed resources is a cornerstone of sustainability and resilience for communities large and small across the globe. Current knowledge combined with affordable technology puts establishing local seed banks within our grasp. It's time to get started!

How to Start A Seed Bank by Paul Massey

• Learn how to grow & save your own seeds
Connect with local growers
You will discover which crops are important and interesting to your community
• Learn about the native flora
Many native plants are difficult to source and may be in desperate need of               horticultural management
• Learn the indigenous cultures’ crops and farming practices of your region
The place-based wisdom of native peoples is often extensive and sustainable
• Get to know the local crop varieties, including landraces
What seed is being produced in your area? If done commercially, it is probably well suited to the current environmental conditions. Especially important are landraces – crops that are highly adapted to specific areas and local low-input farming systems.
• Connect with botanical/agricultural agencies
For example botanical gardens; agricultural extension services; state, federal, and university agriculture departments; invasive species councils, etc. These are primary sources of regulatory, scientific, and technical information related to seed production and environmental management.
• Connect with existing local, regional, and national seed networks/seed suppliers
A wealth of open-pollinated seed is available as never before. Though there were magnitudes more total varieties in decades past, access to diversity is at an all-time high
• Get involved in and/or start your own seed exchange
A great way to meet growers, see local crops, assess seed saving skills of your    community.
• Read the seed banking literature
Everything you need is online. Research what sources are relevant for your area and start to make connections there.
• Define the scope of your efforts, find your niche
We are primarily focusing on locally adapted food crops, with a secondary focus on native & medicinal. If you are in an urban area you might want to look into who is using aquaponics, rooftop gardens, vertical gardens and farms, and community gardens. The groups and individuals involved in these initiatives can help you define where you’d like to start, what your needs are how you’d like to contribute.
• Source local & affordable equipment
Even seed banks in developing countries with no electricity are successful. These initiatives don’t have be expensive and cause a financial drain. By finding your niche and interest you can then see what supplies you might need and source creatively.
• Select safe & redundant locations
If you are building a seed bank make sure you back up your collection of seeds in two locations.
• Develop a business model for the seed bank that works for your community
Members will have the tendency to compare the prices of your seed with commercial growers. If you are building a seed bank consider creative methods of acquiring memberships and buy in. For example, when members set their own prices for their seed they are placing the value themselves, therefore, getting more for their money and contributing to the sustainability of the seed bank.
• Make it fun!

For those of us that are excited and capable of growing our own food, saving seeds and contributing to local seed libraries is an ideal way to start. It empowers us, challenges us, and connects us, in a personal way, to our rapidly shifting food systems at both the local and international levels. As Miguel Santistevan reminded us, one of the most profound ways we can take action is to vote with our dollars and buy foods from local producers. By becoming local producers ourselves, even on the smallest of scales, we are making an impact on our food systems and our relationships to these systems.

As our contributors are doing their work, I will begin growing seeds in my tiny apartment in the hopes of making even a small batch of medicinal teas this summer and contributing some seeds back to the Pharmaseed in Montreal. While I do that, at Kindle Project, we’ll be continuing to keep abreast of the daily news that is surfacing about the fight against Monsanto, the action of farmers, and the developments of the Doomsday Bank. We will also continue learning from our partners who are saving seeds and working on these issues every day.  Thank you to all our contributors this season and check back with us on April 5th when we’ll be starting a new theme!

Seeds of Freedom – Trailer from The ABN and The Gaia Foundation on Vimeo.

“Global agriculture has changed more in the past 50 years than in the previous 10,000. Nowhere is this conflict more poignant than in the story of seed.”

The opening words of the Seeds of Freedom trailer grabbed us. As we’ve been studying seed issues for the past several weeks, the sheer amount and at times disturbing nature of information has been overwhelming. It begs us to question:

How can we possibly make sense of this tremendous shift in agriculture? How do we resolve the conflict this shift has created and where do seeds fit in?

What have we learned in our research? Genetically Modified (GM) seeds and the companies that produce them are providing catastrophic results for many communities around the world; they are grossly responsible for the devastation’s that make up our current state of affairs in human food systems. Seed banks, through their actions and collections are leading the way in navigating this disturbing shift. Their creators are among the many individuals and organizations that are fervently working toward food sovereignty. These points are clear, but still, there are so many other pieces of the puzzle.

What are the areas of knowledge that we are missing to understand the whole picture of seed issues? Seeds of Freedom gives us one essential answer to this multifaceted question. Our conversation with one of the film’s advisers, Head of International Advocacy for the Gaia Foundation, Teresa Anderson, helps to uncover some of the other aspects of this quandary.

Overall, the film aims to paint a more global picture of how agriculture is shifting, illustrating how harmful changes in local seed knowledge affect local food systems, how that affects local ecosystems, and how that ultimately affects global food systems and ecosystems. However, the unique angle that Seeds of Freedom takes is focusing less on the effects of GM seeds and more on an issue not widely covered in the media: stories of indigenous knowledge from the Global South.

When I asked Teresa how communities in both Northern and Southern contexts can benefit from this film, she explained that the lessons of indigenous knowledge and biodiversity preservation are applicable everywhere. She added seed issues are “often communicated in a dry way, especially the way the policies have influenced the changes in the food systems. People don’t really have access or understanding of this, which is why we wanted to communicate it on film…to communicate the difference between biodiversity and monoculture.”

During my conversation with Teresa, I was most taken with the reality of cultural loss when biodiversity is lost. With most countries having little or no legislation to protect biodiversity in the face of GM seeds, it makes it all the more easy to ignore local and indigenous knowledge that has been informing farming systems for thousands of years. The Gaia Foundation has partnered with the African Biodiversity Network to create this film, and it seems as though they will have great success in getting this important message across. One of the great strengths of the African Biodiversity Network, Teresa notes, is their incredible capacity for finding those communities who are already working with indigenous knowledge as a part of building a sustainable and healthy ecosystem.

Seeds of Freedom will juxtapose two farming situations: One, a community in which farmers have the opportunity to use organic, local, and saved seeds that preserve biodiversity, nutritional diversity and cultural heritage. Two, a community in which farmers only have the opportunity to buy one or two varieties of seed that are designed not to be saved. “When you contrast the two it becomes clear what the problem is – it is reviving our biodiversity.” Teresa goes on to explain, “In order to understand the changes in our food systems it is critical to understand what diversity used to be. Those systems (from the past) made a lot of sense. They met farmers’ needs.”

How cultural and indigenous knowledge comes in, Teresa explained, is through the hands of the elders. By working with local elders in communities, in various African countries primarily, the Gaia Foundation is helping to revive seed diversity.

“Indigenous knowledge is completely ignored by modern seed,” Teresa shared. Community dialogues that include elders, specifically to ask them about the old practices of seed and agriculture innately incorporate the cultural element into the conversation. “Opening up a space for the indigenous knowledge to be shared allows room for younger generations to undo some of the damaging knowledge they’ve received from the GM seed pushers in their regions.  The younger generations hear, learn and compare, and by integrating this knowledge, they are effectively reviving ecosystems.”

Teresa and I spoke about how the common Non-Governmental Organizational processes in dealing with cultural and/or environmental preservation are often not sustainable because there is an omission of the cultural and indigenous knowledge. Without this piece it becomes extremely difficult to sustain local biodiversity. Every person I’ve interviewed over the past weeks about these issues has reminded me that in order to build a sustainable seed bank, for example, I must also learn the local and indigenous practices of my region. Seeds of Freedom is echoing this reminder on a larger scale – and is placing it as a part of the broad conversation about GM seeds and modern agricultural practices.

As Teresa and I spoke, we shared some of those overwhelming sentiments of knowing a fair amount about the issue of GM seeds and the loss of biodiversity on our planet. We uncomfortably giggled even at the wave of tragedy that can wash over us with this knowledge, but this is why we do this work. Kindle Project is in a privileged position to meet people like Teresa and get to know organizations like the Gaia Foundation who remain committed advocates for this planet and the people on it.

Teresa shared that the role of Gaia “has always been about bringing issues and knowledge into the collective consciousness.” It seems as though their film is really going to help do that, and cliché as it may sound, knowledge is power. The more knowledge we can collect about this important issue, the more power we’ll have in working towards preservation of non-GM seed in our communities.

When Seeds of Freedom is launched in May we will be sharing it here. Stay tuned…

Since Kindle Project’s inception we’ve been ardent supporters of using documentary film as a tool to bring about change. Documentaries are about truth telling. They give us often-undisclosed information about an issue that we would otherwise not have access to. In the case of Bitter Seeds, Micha X. Peled, the film’s director, manages to expose the stark realities of the ill effects of genetically modified seeds on farmers in India. This being the third film in his trilogy, he brings his audiences an extremely comprehensive yet personal account of the devastations wrought on human lives by the monopoly of corporate seed companies.  The intensity with which he conveys this complex situation, particularly illustrated through the large wave of farmer suicides in the region, is why we were so enthusiastic about featuring his film.

Still Image from Bitter Seeds - A Widow's Grief

To describe the complexity and travesty of the situation in India is best left to the film itself. Similarly, the tremendous scope of Monsanto’s effects on global food systems would take far more than a blog post to cover. Especially as Monsanto is facing bio-piracy charges in India and is coming under fire from several other lawsuits. However, this is why Micha’s film was the ideal entry point for us to understand part of the overwhelming number of complex issues that Genetically Modified (GM) seeds and Monsanto bring to the table.  Having had the opportunity to watch the film this month I was able to put faces and names to this issue.

Still Image from Bitter Seeds - Ram Krishna in his field

“Companies like the U.S.-based Monsanto claim that their GM seeds offer the most effective solution to feeding the world’s growing population, but on the ground, many small-scale farmers are losing their land. Nowhere is the situation more desperate than in India, where an epidemic of farmer suicides has claimed over a quarter million lives. Every 30 minutes one farmer in India, deep in debt and unable to provide for his family, commits suicide.” (Source: teddybearfilm.com)

Still from Bitter Seeds, Manjusha (on the left) with family and photos. Her father, who was a farmer who committed suicide, is in the photo on the right.

While the film’s narrative focus is on farmer suicides, it also reveals the many aspects of this issue that tie it into the worldwide grassroots resistance to companies like Monsanto. It manages to make the connections between the personal and global easy to grasp. Through the film’s main characters I was able to understand the despondency that is present for the farmers in India and could relate to the sensibility of many farmers and activists in my own country who are grappling with similar issues, though not quite so grave. However, the film does spark questions in my mind of what the future holds for farmers in Canada and the US, and just how far away this reality is from home.

Still from Bitter Seeds - Keshev, an elder in the community, speaks about his knowledge of seeds

Micha’s first film in his globalization trilogy, Store Wars: When Walmart Comes to Town looked at the polarizing effect of the arrival of a Walmart in Ashland, VA. The second film, China Blue, follows the story of two girls working in a jeans factory in China. The final piece in the trilogy, Bitter Seeds, takes us to the source of the raw material, cotton, exported to China and used to produce said jeans. Micha’s films focus on the existing global superpowers and their effects on individuals and with Bitter Seeds we’re seeing how these superpowers are truly starting to take control in very detrimental ways.

In speaking with Micha I was particularly interested in Monsanto’s lack of presence in the film. Monsanto refused to be interviewed for the film and I was curious if they had seen it since its release. Micha explains, “I’m in no hurry to inform them of the film. There’s been a number of cases recently where huge corporations use legal threats to keep a film from showing.” As was the case, Micha told me, with the film Food Inc. which Monsanto attempted to have blocked from various networks in the Midwest. Making a documentary about something controversial poses risks to the filmmaker and instead of placing his focus on the potential reaction of Monsanto, he is devoted to the issues and is working hard to advocate for farmers both nationally and internationally using his film as a vehicle for this advocacy.

Bitter Seeds has already had some very significant success winning two awards at IDFA this past year. However, for Micha, the success of the film is largely based on its distribution and role in educating organizations and individuals about what they can do to be a part of the necessary shift away from GM seeds. Micha has received a distribution grant to help in these efforts. Additionally, having received the Oxfam Global Justice Award 6000 DVD’s of Bitter Seeds will be sent to Oxfam members in the Netherlands, which will include the extensive fact sheet that accompanies the film. In addition, Greenpeace in India is interested in using the film as a part of an upcoming anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) campaign.

Micha and his team have partnered with Working Films to connect the film with various advocacy groups in the US. Currently, Micha is very focused on California’s Ballot Initiative Campaign that is working to mandate the labeling of foods that have GM ingredients. “The US Farm Bill is coming up for renewal this year and many coalitions are working towards this, these groups could benefit from using this film,” Micha explains.

Farmer suicides in India, the proper labeling of foods that contain GM ingredients, crop insurance, and the effects of climate change on agriculture, to name a few, are major issues all connected through the corporate takeover of our food systems relevant to all communities across the globe. Education, awareness, activism, resistance and mobilizing need to happen in as many local communities as possible in order to address this global problem. What Micha has done with his film and the subsequent educational distribution and activism thereof is one excellent example of that.  The grave future that our planet’s food systems are facing if we don’t pay attention to seed saving, seed justice, and speak out against companies like Monsanto is dismal. The stories and people we meet in Bitter Seeds are sad reminders of this.

It’s often all too easy to watch a documentary and be moved in the moment but feel disconnected a few hours later. What Micha has done with Bitter Seeds, as he has done with the other two films in the trilogy, is to create a network of support and activism around these issues. A very comprehensive website will be available shortly for the film that will allow viewers to engage and respond to these pressing issues. We will be sure to let you know when that site goes live.

Micha’s films and their supporting materials respond to his favorite question from viewers, What can I do?  He takes us beyond our superficial Google searches of Monsanto and farmer suicides in India and brings us personal, relatable stories and pushes us past the “perceived reality that is often controlled by the corporate world,” as he aptly describes it. Reminiscent of Chomsky’s call for us to access all information available to us, Micha does a lot of the work for us, and now it’s up to us to use his research to take action in our own ways.

Resources and Links
• Watch the Bitter Seeds trailer on the Teddy Bear Film site here
• Download the Bitter Seeds FAQ and Factsheet here
• Store Wars website with educational resources
• China Blue website with educational resources

All images courtesy of Micha X. Peled and Teddy Bear Films

Intimacy. Apocalypse. Respect. Plan B. Activism. These are just some of the words that came up in my conversation with Kindle Project grantee, Miguel Santistevan. Not at all what I was expecting when I was planning my interview with him in regards to seeds and the ‘Doomsday Vault’. But then again, that’s just one of the reasons why Miguel is one of our grantees. As our in-house seed expert he works in truly holistic ways – meshing the spiritual with the scientific, the social with the practical and all the while being one of the most fascinating people we’ve ever met.

Miguel and I spoke primarily about the Doomsday Vault but I quickly discovered that asking him about this Norwegian project I was unraveling many other questions we’ve been asking ourselves at Kindle for the past couple months and Miguel provided us with some answers.

The idea of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (a.k.a The Doomsday Vault) is something we could not ignore while focusing our attention to seeds. A kind of science fiction-esque cave set in Norway just over 8oo miles from the North Pole storing already half a million seed samples from around the world. A quick Google image search will reveal this silvery structure embedded in ice as a kind of ominous reminder of what is at stake in our current global, political, environmental and climate context. The seeds that are housed in this vault are from all over the world and anybody can place seeds there free of charge, thanks to the Norwegian government who has funded this initiative to the tune of roughly US$9 million.

In speaking with Miguel I was curious about his opinions on the vault. As someone who understands, lives and works with seeds on both the very personal and broader academic and global levels I was certain his thoughts on the vault would provide insights into this controversial project.

When I asked Miguel to share his thoughts about the vault in Norway I knew his answer would not be simple: “I think it’s a good idea… At local level and at the bigger level we need to think of a Plan B. It’s a good idea as a back up, but it’s only half a solution – it’s ex-citu conservation -  in-situ conservation is more important. It’s only 400 feet above sea level and I think we’re in for a great surprise in terms of what the ocean and earth are capable of doing. We’re blind to the potential of what this mother earth can do to clean herself. I think we need a better plan.”

Miguel’s suggestion was to have not just one massive seed bank that addresses a post-apocalyptic scenario, but rather to build thousands of seed banks all over the world. This would then address the problem and pressure the seeds in the Norway vault face – feeding people. Miguel’s assessment of these seeds is that they would need about five years to adapt to a local climate, soil and etc. Then how viable is this vault? Is there still a way to decentralize the world’s seeds? What else can we do?

In answering some of these questions with Miguel I was struck by the innate complexities that this vault presents. Additionally, it opened up a whole new arena for our conversation to the necessary depth of relationship we need to get to with the seeds we save and cultivate. “This Norway vault is still treating seeds an object to be saved. I see seeds as an ambassador of mother earth. Human beings are in a symbiosis with plant world… we’re forgetting the original relationship with the seeds, we’re abandoning that and just focusing on technology and economy.” The way Miguel went on to speak about his relationships with seeds expressed a kind of intimacy I was not expecting. His reverence for seeds in combination with his experienced, academic, and scientific knowledge of this field was humbling.

“The wisdom and relationship with seeds is very personal and very intimate. It’s challenging…It’s one of the most engaging and beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.” He reminds us to listen to the seeds, to notice the earth, the land, the water, the climate and all the changes these elements are going through. Without this relationship, and the attention required to cultivate it, it seems all the seeds in the world, even if protected in the icy vault will be of little use to us as humans.

From the magnitude of the Doomsday Vault to the minutia of a single square inch of soil on Miguel’s land I was left wondering how I could be involved, invested and active in this issue of seeds and their sovereignty living in an urban metropolis. Miguel’s reminders were simple: “Even though you’re in the concrete jungle – remember there’s soil under that. Sledgehammer it. Break through it!”

He urged us as urban dwellers to remember that every time we’re eating, we’re voting with our food choices. Seems simplistic enough, but not unlike the complexities of each square inch of land, we must consider each square inch of cultivatable space in urban areas. We spoke of community gardens, raised beds, vericomposts, rooftop gardens, and the many ways urban dwellers are engaging with local farmers to engage with these issues on a daily and very personal level.

For Miguel, saving his seeds and cultivating his growing seed libraries is a form of local and global activism. We spoke about activism in general and how some are drawn to protests and rallies while others contribute to activism in seemingly more quiet and personal ways. “The most hard core revolutionary out there is maize – she’s not out there protesting, she’s very graceful and doing what she’s doing.” It may seem like a soft argument. Perhaps a plant is not the kind of leader activists are looking for, but Miguel’s illustration of maize as a revolutionary was as perceptive and as in-depth as his analysis of the Norway vault. He explained that agricultural activism is not about jumping on a bandwagon, because this kind of activism demands one be committed and consistent all the while “putting you in touch with your own mortality.”

Exploring the Doomsday Vault with Miguel acted as a kind of call to action, a very personal one that encourages me to look at cultivable land in my city, to keep reading and trying to understand the complexities of this vault and to foster a relationship with the ways that I can contribute to this changing food systems of our planet. Miguel’s words really sum this up, “we need to engage with seeds in the present so that we can have an agricultural future.” How we carry this forward is up to each of us and whether the seeds in the Norway vault will be viable for future generations is not something we can know now, but according to Miguel the chances of that being successful hinge on our intimate and personal relationships to each individual seed.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Science degree in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, Miguel Santistevan is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Biology at the University of New Mexico.  His research interests are in the traditional acequia-irrigated and dryland agricultural systems of the Upper Rio Grande and Sangre de Cristo mountains. Miguel is certified in Permaculture and ZERI Design and has been a High School science teacher in Pecos, Peñasco, and Taos school districts.  He has directed youth-in-agriculture programs such as ePlaza of Hands Across Cultures and the Regional Development Corporation and the Sembrando Semillas youth-in-agriculture project of the New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA).  He has produced video and public radio programming (¡Que Vivan las Acequias!) with the NMAA and Cultural Energy, of which he is a Board Member.  He maintains a conservation farm with his wife and daughter in Taos called Sol Feliz where many visitors have participated in educational presentations, tours, and hands-on workshops (www.solfelizfarm.org).  Miguel coordinates a ‘Living Seed Library’ program through the Agriculture Implementation, Research, and Education non-profit corporation he is co-founding (www.growfarmers.org).  Miguel has recently been elected Chairman of the Acequia Sur de Río de Don Fernando de Taos for the 2010-2011 growing season of which he is a parciante (irrigator) and past Mayordomo (ditch boss).  He also serves as a Board Member for the Taos Valley Acequia Association. More information on Miguel can be found at www.unm.edu/~msanti.

Photo Source of Seed Vault – National Geographic News

Seed saving is as old as agriculture itself but it is hardly common practice nor is it a priority for most people, even those with their own gardens. In the coming weeks we will be exploring various aspects of seed saving, seed libraries and the reasons behind creating these essential initiatives. Pharmaseed allows us to look at one of the why’s behind starting a seed library and how as individuals we can become personally invested in projects such as these.

Milky Oats seeds

Lemon Chamomille seeds

Johnny Jump Up seeds, a type of Viola

Valerian seeds, also known as "heal-all"

Calendula seeds, a multi-purpose healer

Cameron entranced by the lavendar seeds he saved from his garden last year.

Pharmaseed will be a public seed bank located in Montreal at the Sierra Youth Coalition offices. Set to launch in spring of this year, visitors can come to browse and take (and at the end of the season, replenish) various seeds. Cameron describes his desired outcome for the project: “I want to explore, in depth, the different medicinal and nutritional qualities of different plants, bring them forward and create a (seed bank) where people get prescriptions, and then get a plan to make a garden to suit their personal health needs.” He explains that this process can be both self-prescribed and aided with guidance to build one’s own garden. All seeds at the Pharmaseed will be stored in medical pill bottles as a part of the statement the project puts forth about our health and our relationship to plants and environment, and of course, to our medical system.

Cameron explains that his work has always centered around “the connections between our environment and our food, which both have an immense quality and impact on our health. But, this seems to be invisible to us and to the medical system.” He went to explain that in North America “we are very hard, we have hard outer shells and tend to accept the physical conditions we are (used to) thinking we can live through them.”

Cameron described the following anecdote to me that captures the importance of seeds and urban health and outlines the genesis of his idea for Pharmaseed:

“When I first moved to Montreal I used to just walk a lot late at night. An artist and an herbalist had done an installation by the train tracks in the Mile End (neighborhood). It was an installation of local flora with medicinal properties. There was a collection of planters with descriptions and medical properties listed.”

The plant that struck Cameron the most was Ragweed, a common plant in many urban settings that is often the cause of seasonal allergies. “Ragweed is a carbon dioxide-avore, it purifies the air around it which is why it flourishes so much in cities. It purifies air and soil. We have this plant that flourishes because of the poor design of our cities but we try to exterminate it and treat ourselves with pharmaceuticals that could have short and long term negative side effects on our health. Discovering ragweed was a big building block in my environmental consciousness.”

Many pharmaceuticals are derived from plants and while the field of allopathic medicine is aware of this, it is not often referenced; therefore further disconnecting us from the literal roots of the healing agents we choose when we are ill or imbalanced.

Plant based medicine and the knowledge that stems from this is extremely old and one of the most well recorded bodies of knowledge has its roots in the Vedic Period of India. Remembering this long history acts as a reminder that saving seeds and seeking health knowledge from plants is not something new for us as a human species. However, our current system of Western medicine often does not acknowledge, with enough emphasis, the importance of plants in our overall health.

While Pharmaseed is not about being in opposition to allopathic medicine, it does, however, empower individuals to consider their own health needs and make choices based on those needs. While Pharmaseed’s overarching mission is similar to that of other seed banks (preserving genetic diversity of plants, preserving organic and heirloom plant varieties, ensuring the resilience of plant varieties and etc.) it is viewing the necessity of seed saving through the lens of health. Unique in its mission, which has political and social statements in the way it is set up, Pharmaseed is providing a health alternative that is free, self-directed, based in ancient knowledge and is sustainable.

Pharmaseed is helping to reframe how we interact with our concepts of health and what is available to us. It asks those of us who are capable and interested in building our own gardens to think about what imbalances exist in our health and aid those imbalances by carefully cultivating plants that can help support our health. It makes the seed as important as the medicine; the seed becomes the medicine. Furthermore it challenges our notions of where our foods and medicines come from and asks us to save what is precious and necessary for the survival of our many plant species that we rely on whether knowingly or unknowingly. Cameron reminds us that, “We don’t always see how valuable seeds are. We live in a society where big things matter. We have to reprogram our internal calculators to realize that small is powerful and beautiful and within that tiny seed is immense potential. It’s up to us if we want to cultivate it. A pill bottle could have thousands of seeds in it…If global systems breakdown we will need local resources in ways we’re not used to – then the single seed will be seen as useful.” The power of this one seed library is that it is helping to make seeds important to us, personally.

When Pharmaseed launches we will let you know and at that time there will also be resources available about how you might start a Pharmaseed in your community.

Cameron is a huge fan of the wilderness, feeling most at home in a stand of ancient hardwoods, or on a mountainside, or sitting on a surfboard in the ocean. His love of nature and the finer qualities of humanity – our intelligence, creativity and ability to love – motivate him to work for social justice and the environment. He dreams of sustainable cities, car-free, green and livable, living symbiotically with their surrounding countryside, rather than ‘taking, making and wasting’, in the words of green architect and Cradle-to-Cradle author William McDonough. Cameron has organized extensively around climate change at the national and international levels, worked at Concordia University in Montreal on a variety of sustainability projects, led greening and sustainability projects in his neighbourhood, and co-created a social networking platform for social entrepreneurs. He loves woodworking, making music, growing and cooking food, yoga, hockey, and theatre, and traveling to new and exciting places, meeting incredible people and learning new things about himself and the world.

People walk past an advert against genetically modified food on a Paris subway station platform. The advert reads in French: ‘It is safe. Regarding GMOs, we still don’t have enough hindsight’.

For the next three months the Kindle Project blog will focus on an issue that is often at the forefront of our minds – seeds: their sovereignty, production, and importance. As the local food movement is growing in urban centers worldwide and the popular trend of homesteading and DIY is gaining greater momentum a slightly greyer area of food and environmental justice lays in the issue of seeds. While there are known and publicized issues surrounding the mega agricultural biotech company of Monsanto and the injustices coming from their production and distribution of genetically modified seeds, there is still much to explore in terms of how we make these injustices relevant to each of us on a personal and daily level.

The issue of seeds is a complex one and while it may seem odd to focus our attention to seeds during the winter months, this is precisely when seeds are most relevant. For the next three months many North Americans will be participating in seed trades, sales, and collections. Farmers big and small, local gardeners, and individuals are beginning to plot their gardens and land for the spring and summer months.  

For many of us living in the developed world we experience a false sense of abundance. What is available to us is not always what grows near to where we live. This is, of course, not new information for most of us. For those of us that have had the privilege and the need to educate ourselves on food issues we have grown accustomed to thinking about food sourcing, farmers rights and eating local. However, there is a very real threat of scarcity, (due to changing environmental landscapes, seed wars, GMO’s etc.), that prevents us from looking further at times. And oddly, the issues around seeds and seed justice are all too often swept under the rug.

As we spend time studying seeds in the next several weeks we will be doing so by asking a lot of questions and hopefully be providing some answers: How can people living in urban centers become engaged in seed issues? Is it important for people living in urban centers to care about seeds? What are the reasons behind building seed libraries and why is this important? How are artists and filmmakers engaging with seed issues and helping to bring tangible information to the public? If food scarcity is real for all of us, what do seeds have to do with this? What can I do to understand seeds in a more meaningful way?

For us, and many others, seeds represent what is possible for our planet, what is sacred and also what is most pressing. We live in urgent times with a planet whose environmental shifts are already causing grave effects. But, seeds remind us that despite urgency we need to patient, we need to let things incubate, grow, flourish and rest.

It is our hope that you’ll join in on this conversation with us by commenting on our posts and sharing what it is you know and what it is you want to know about seeds.

Looking forward to an exciting year ahead on the Kindle Project blog!

Image Source