Finding A Better Way To Live

‘Sowing seeds, sowing friends’ was the slogan with which Sementes Vivas came to BOOM festival. This Portuguese organic seeds organisation aims to spread awareness about the positive impact of using organic seeds for healthier soils and a healthier planet.

Organic seeds in hands

When I was cycling to BOOM festival in Portugal this summer, I found out how deserted the mountains actually were. Many ancient terraces full of old olive trees that weren’t taken care of. Fields overgrown with brambles. Ruins that showed that once life were flourishing here. It was overall dry and the roads were very dusty. I could imagine that farmers gave up living here and moved to cities. I was dreaming away while cycling and became aware of the stunning mountaintops. With little imagination I could see the beauty of living here. Silence, space, possibilities. I found out quite quickly that there is a group of pioneers attracted to this area. They have a specific interest in bringing back life to this region with a focus on sustainability and organic farming. There is governmental support for those who are willing to make the exciting jump to settle here. This is the area where also the organic seeds organisation Sementes Vivas is located.

Cycling to BOOM, meeting fellow green travellers

Mother Earth art at BOOM festival

I got to know Sementes Vivas (Portuguese for ‘Living Seeds’) through a contest on Facebook. They had some BOOM festival tickets that one could win. I was determined to be among the lucky ones. Thanks to much support of many friends I was happily cycling to Boomland with a precious ticket in my pocket. A sustainable travel to a sustainable festival where I would meet my green Santa. A team of enthusiastic internationals was ready to warmly welcome me at the Sementes Vivas stand and put a straw hat on my hat with which we posed. I was feeling so grateful to be able to thank these wonderful people, but also got very curious towards their work! Oscar and I got invited to come over to see their farm.

Fresh homemade lunch at Sementes Vivas

On a hot sunny day we drove to the place of 25 hectares where we discovered a beautiful farm. Here they produce organic and biodynamic seeds of cereals, fruits, flowers, herbs and vegetables. These seeds are spread among some 40 growers all across Portugal. In selecting growers there’s a lot of study involved to find out what the best climatic and soil conditions are for growing. I could easily feel that employees are very engaged here at this farm. All together we had an amazing lunch. What abundance! We happen to sit in front of the founder of the company, Stefan Doeblin. He expresses that the aim of Sementes Vivas is to take care of vital soils, which improves the growth of good food and seeds and leads towards a healthier planet. This is combined with a very conscious and sustainable way of working all across the production process.

After an amazing lunch with home made pizzas, salads, humus and fresh fruits we were given a broad tour around the farm by Merve. She studied sustainable agriculture in Turkey and came to Portugal one year ago to work for Sementes Vivas. She shows us her passion for what she called ‘the nursery’, the kindergarten for the plants. From here everything starts to grow and planted over the many fields that she shows us. On the hottest time of the day we walked over the dusty paths between the fields.

Merve her favorite place; the nursery

Just saying it was quite dusty

Merve shared her experiences and lot’s of information and explained that it’s part of her duty to help creating awareness about organic seeds and knowledge in seed production. The last field we passed showed a great mixture of veggies. “Here’s the field on which we, as employees, can grow and take home for ourselves”. What an amazing job!

I’ve always tried to buy organic veggies and fruits, but at times this was difficult. Only now I come to realize that there’s a lot of attention needed to grow organic sees, which are at the core of healthy food. By buying and spreading organic and biodynamic seeds and growing from these, we can support the movement towards seed and food sovereignty.

We learned about the difference between organic and biodynamic agriculture. For biodynamic food there’s an independent certification, which is organized by Demeter. The methods used for gardening in a biodynamic way are focussing on ecological harmony. It’s about being in a holistic and spiritual dialogue with nature, which includes very specific rituals for composting and crop rotation, leading to more healthy soils and growth. I remember Sina’s words about sustainable gardening at Fougerette. ‘Working with nature instead of working against it, by interfering only in the slightest way’.

The last place where Merve took us is the hall in which the harvest is going through a whole epic process towards seed production. It includes many steps, like drying the seeds, cleaning them and even sorting carefully by hand (!) before packing them. The smell of supersweet pumpkins entered our noses.

Processing seeds

Last control of the seeds is even done manually!

Before we left the farm we bought some of their organic seeds. Since we don’t have a garden yet, we’ve sent these as a present to our friends Haico and Else in their Magic Valley, also here in Central Portugal. Hopefully we can get back to Sementes Vivas soon for bringing organic seeds to our own fields! In the mean time I want to study organic farming as a sustainable production system. I want to learn how to work with biodiversity, how to prepare and take care of soils and how to make green manure. So, let’s look forward to wintertime full of study books and documentaries!

Do you want to know and read more about Sementes Vivas? www.sementesvivas.bio