{"id":6236,"date":"2019-01-22T21:30:53","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T21:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hvfarmhub.org\/?p=6236"},"modified":"2021-10-01T02:16:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T02:16:19","slug":"farm-hub-sponsors-nofa-ny-2019-seeds-hope-screens-packed-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hvfarmhub.org\/es\/farm-hub-sponsors-nofa-ny-2019-seeds-hope-screens-packed-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Hub sponsors NOFA-NY 2019; `Seeds of Hope’ screens to packed audience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fields of corn husks, maroon-colored ears of corn, coupled with the powerful narrative of<\/span> Rowen White, a member of the Akwesasne Tribe of Mohawk, captures the opening scene of \u201cSeeds of Hope,<\/a>\u201d<\/span> the short documentary which tells the story of the<\/span> Native American Seed Sanctuary<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seed Sanctuary is an initiative to preserve Native American culture and foodways through seed saving. The project is a collaboration between the Farm Hub,<\/span> Seedshed<\/span><\/a> \u2013 a non-profit associated with the Hudson Valley Seed Company – and the Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe of northern New York. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left, Raul Carreon shares the stage with Rowen White during the panel discussion<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeeds of Hope\u201d recently screened to a packed audience at the<\/span> 2019 NOFA-NY\u2019s (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York) Winter Conference<\/span><\/a> in Saratoga Springs, NY. Now in its 37<\/span>th<\/span> year, the annual conference drew thousands of growers, gardeners, and consumers who share a common passion for creating an ecologically and economically sustainable food system. This year\u2019s conference, themed \u201cClimate of Change,\u201d featured over 100 workshops across 13 tracks that included soil health and policy. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film, shot and produced by<\/span> Oceans 8 Films<\/span><\/a>, opens with a seed blessing ceremony that launches the traditional \u201cThree Sisters\u201d planting of corn, beans, and squash over nearly 30 acres of land on the Farm Hub.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The screening at NOFA-NY also included a lively panel discussion moderated by Ken Greene, founder of Seedshed, and featured Raul Carreon, the Farm Hub\u2019s post-harvest coordinator, Jay Goldmark, field crops production manager, White, and Karakwino Tina Square with the Native North American Traveling College and Ohero:kon rites of passage.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carreon offers a growers\u2019 perspective when it comes to the Native American Seed Sanctuary.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hundreds attend \u201cSeeds of Hope\u201d screening and discussion at 2019 NOFA-NY conference.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s a story that needs to be heard, because people need to know how impactful seeds are when it comes to their stories, and to the lives of people who grow them and take care of them on a day-to-day basis,\u201d Carreon says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Seed Sanctuary also spawned further cultural and language exchange. For example, traditionally the seed ceremonies were conducted in tribal dialect, but the seed ceremony held at the Farm Hub in 2018 was also interpreted in English and Spanish in order to foster inclusivity. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s been an amazing collaboration,\u201d says Carreon of the alliance between Farm Hub, Seed Shed, and the Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe of northern New York.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImpact on community\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panelists also shared the impact the seed saving initiative has made on the Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe. The harvested seeds are used as part of the Ohero:kon rites of passage, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for youth. Vegetables such as squash grown as part of the Seed Sanctuary have been shared with an Akwesasne school and used for school fundraisers and student meals. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to feed all these people and we\u2019ve tried to bring in more traditional foods to introduce those foods [in the community]\u2019,\u201d Square says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Native American Seed Sanctuary will continue this spring, with White hoping to add more tribal varieties and expand distribution and education. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Farm Hub plays a big part in \u201cproviding the land, labor, funding, and the knowledge of machines that were used. I hope it can be a model for which other communities engage in this cultural work,\u201d White says. \u201cIt has worked really well for us.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Farm Hub staff at NOFA-NY 2019. Photo credit: Seedshed.org<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other conference highlights<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other key moments from NOFA-NY 2019:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n