For more than 40 years, Community Seed Banks (CSBs) around the world have emerged as part of informal seed systems to counteract the loss of locally adapted crops through dynamic, collective management.
In Europe, the number of CSBs has grown rapidly in the last 15 years. They had a crucial role in raising public awareness of the importance of plant and seed diversity, protecting local varieties and adapting them to current needs. CSBs have also enriched our society with their innovations, such as newly adapted tools and methods and social forms, to help building a more sustainable food system.
Within the DYNAVERSITY project, a series of three manuals was developed to explain the role of Community Seed Banks as part of informal seed systems. The creation of these manuals was possible thanks to the collaboration of project partners and members of the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! (ECLLD), DYNAVERSITY partner.
Download pdf of Manual #1 “Establishment, management and governance”
Download pdf of Manual #2 “Documentation systems: a tool for data and information management”
Special thanks also to Alexandra Baumgartner and Italo Rondinella for the photographs they kindly authorised us to use