How To Organize a Community Seed Swap

By Heather Coburn Flores
as printed in Back Home Magazine’s Ask an Expert column, March 2007






Organizing a community seed swap is an easy and rewarding way to meet new people and expand the cultural and genetic diversity of your community. Something like a gardeners’ flea market with an emphasis on seeds, plants and propagative material, these events build and strengthen the food security and ecological viability of our community.
I have organized annual seed swaps in Eugene for almost a decade now. The organizing process takes about 20 labor hours, stretched out over a few months, and boils down to a few simple steps.

1. Write down your goals. This may include short-term incentives like, “Get free seed for my garden,” or long-term goals like, “Increase the food security and genetic diversity of my bioregion.” Free associate and write a page or so about your event.

2. Now develop a short letter to send out to seed companies for donations. Many people will bring seeds to the swap, but others will come empty handed. Sequester seed donations from local growers and seed companies in advance so there is surplus at the event. Send out a letter at least two months in advance. Stash the donations in a cool, dark, dry place until the day of the swap.

3. Find out if anyone else around you is doing similar work, striving toward similar goals. A local university is a good place to start. Make a list of contacts and then contact them. Visit garden centers and the farmers’ markets. Look online and ask around for local seed-savers. There may already be seed swaps happening, or you may find like-minded seedgeeks who will help you organize an annual event. Maybe you will find someone who wants to do a workshop at your event. Invite them. Or perhaps you want to do a demonstration yourself. You can also invite activists groups and garden clubs to set up informational tables.

4. Establish a date and place for the event several months in advance. Possible sites include schools, churches, bookstores, parks, community centers and private homes. Most places will donate the space for free, and many will provide tables, chairs and audio/visual equipment.

5. Make a flyer and post it around town about three weeks before the event, and again the week before. Refer back to the donation letter and your list of goals, and write a succinct description to send out as a press release. Send it to local media like radio stations, newspapers, any weekly tabloids, and of course post it to any local email lists you find. You may need to make a nominal investment for photocopying flyers; this money can be recovered later by putting out a donation jar at the seed swap. At our events, that jar yields between $50 to $100.

The day of the swap, arrive early and lay out your seed donations. Make cardboard signs for common plant families (Brassicas, Daisies, Nightshades, Goosefeet, etc), so people know where to look and where to put the seeds they bring. Provide empty envelopes for people to stash small quantities of seed. Recycled junk mail envelopes work great—seal them, cut them in half, and you have two little envelopes that can be labeled, filled with seed, and folded closed.

As people arrive, direct them toward the tables and ask them to mark their donations with the species, variety, date of harvest and any other pertinent information. Once a critical mass of people have arrived, initiate a circle and have each person give a short introduction about themselves and what they brought. This is also a great time to announce workshops, guest speakers, or other upcoming events. Pass around a mailing list and point out the donation jar. Encourage people not to take more than half of anything, and to save seed from what they do take, so they can bring it back to the next seed swap. After the event, donate the leftover seed to a local seed bank or garden project, or store it until the next seed swap.

Once you’ve organized your first community seed swap, you’ll see how easy it is and want to do it every year. If this doesn’t happen—if no one shows up or you feel like the whole thing was too much trouble, don’t get discouraged. My first seed swap only brought ten people, but the second one brought over 100! Reach out to the people who show up and ask them to help you organize the next event. By working together we can overcome any obstacle. Good luck and long live the seeds!