Organic Seed Alliance →

Our Mission

Organic Seed Alliance advances ethical seed solutions to meet food and farming needs in a changing world.

Our Vision

We envision organic seed systems that are democratic and just, support human and environmental health, and deliver genetically diverse and regionally adapted seed to farmers everywhere.

About Us

Seed is part of our common cultural heritage – a living, natural resource that demands careful management to meet food needs now and into the future. Organic Seed Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances ethical seed solutions to meet food and farming needs in a changing world.

Each year we educate thousands of farmers and other agricultural community members, conduct professional organic plant breeding and seed production research, and advocate for national policies that strengthen organic seed systems. Our most recent State of Organic Seed report (2016) is part of an ongoing project to monitor the status of organic seed nationally and provides a roadmap for increasing the diversity, quality, and integrity of organic seed available to US farmers.

OSA has a fourteen-year track record as the leading organic seed institution in the US.

CONFRONTING SEED CONSOLIDATION

Over the last four decades, the seed industry has consolidated, and much of our commercial seed is now owned and managed in the hands of a few transnational firms. Intellectual property practices (e.g., utility patents on seed) stand out as a major cause. This control has stifled innovation in plant breeding, and creates barriers to improving the availability and integrity of organic seed.

OSA works to address consolidation through regional seed networks that result in transformative change at the national level. Our collaborative research projects emphasize diversity, ecology, and shared benefits. Our educational efforts build the base of knowledge necessary for stewarding seed and enhancing diversity through on-farm plant breeding and seed production. And our advocacy work promotes the benefits of organic seed while simultaneously confronting threats.

OSA HISTORY

OSA grew out of Abundant Life Seed Foundation, a nonprofit seed conservation program and catalog business. In 2003, a tragic fire resulted in the loss of Abundant Life Seed Foundation’s extensive seed collection. At that time, the board of directors launched OSA as a separate organization to support the growing organic seed movement. The Abundant Life Seed Foundation business was sold.

Seed Library of LA →

OUR MISSION is to facilitate the growth of open-pollinated seeds among residents of the Los Angeles Basin. We are building a seed collection and repository, educating members about the practice of seed-saving, and creating a local community of seed-saving gardeners. We seek to preserve genetic diversity, increase food security and food justice in our region, safeguard alternatives to GMO’s, and empower all members through a deeper connection with nature and the experience of self-reliance. We will strive for excellence in all that we do, knowing the preservation of seed is a sacred trust.

Founded in December 2010, the Seed Library of Los Angeles (SLOLA) is headquartered at The Learning Garden at Venice High School.  We meet monthly at The Learning Garden.  Each meeting includes an educational presentation and a seed exchange among members, as well as lots of fun and good company!

People save seeds for a host of different reasons from ideology to old-fashioned thriftiness.  We welcome all viewpoints and levels of interest.  We seek to reflect all the cultural diversity of our amazing city.  We welcome gardeners of all ages and skill levels, including apartment dwellers with one pot!

A SEED LIBRARY is a depository of seeds held in trust for the members of that library. Members come to the library and borrow seed for their garden.  Members grow the plants in their garden and at the end of the season, they let a few plants ‘go to seed.’  From those plants, they collect seeds to return to the Library to replenish its inventory. All  Seeds are free to members.

The library is both a collection of seeds and of community gardeners.  Since seed is a living thing, it must be renewed each year somewhere by someone or unique varietals can become extinct.  Even growing one seed and returning it to the library is a valuable contribution.

To join the Seed Library, please visit our membership page. Lifetime membership is currently $10. If you are able to make this an annual donation please select recurring in your donation tab. If you are unable to return the seed you had checked out please consider a $1 donation to go towards restoring the inventory.

If you would like to find a particular seed, click below to search.  Only during the months of  August and February will we offer BOTH Cool & Warm Season Inventory for each Branch.   Venice Branch Inventory or by season: Venice Branch COOL Inventory Aug 2017 and Venice Branch WARM Inventory Mar 2018 or the San Fernando Valley Branch Warm Inventory Mar 2018 and San Fernando Valley Branch COOL Inventory Aug 2017 .

5 Great Things About Seed Libraries!

  1. BIODIVERSITY IS AT RISK. A far wider variety of seeds can be kept fresh by many people growing.  We all gain when we combine our efforts. Our seed library is focused on varietals ideal for home gardeners (full flavor and variety in a  small garden) rather than commercial varietals, which often sacrifice flavor and personality for the sake of uniformity and durability for shipping.
  2. SAVE MONEY. Participants can save hundreds of dollars each season by growing their own food and saving their own seed.  In Southern California, we are blessed with a climate that allows us to grow food year-round!
  3. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY. A seed library ensures we have a food supply that is reproducible, local, uncontaminated by genetic modification, and free from external controls. Growing our own food and saving our own seed continues the fine American tradition of self-reliance.
  4. NATIVE SEED. Over time the plants will change in response to our local climate and soil, and gradually will become better seeds for our area. As caretakers of seeds, we cooperate with nature in carrying on priceless genetic material for future generations.  Seeds are a sacred trust passed down to us by our ancestors.  The seed library helps us to best honor that gift.
  5. COMMUNITY. We get to hang out with other like-minded gardeners! Gardening nourishes the soul  as well as the body. By growing a plant from seed, eating its fruit and returning it back to seed, we become fully engaged in the rhythm of nature, grow more attuned to the world around us, and gain a deeper understanding of our own place in the web of life.