forage what?
- teas, medicines, foods, building materials, vehicles, clothing

forage when?
- seasonally
- when the opportunity arises
- to follow the moon cycles

forage who?
- animals and birds and insects and you

forage why?
- to connect, to enhance nutrition, out of necessity

forage how?
- spend time with folks who “know”
- teach yourself through reading books, using your intuition and sensing

BUT REALLY.... YOU CAN JUST START DOING IT

• approach gently and connect
• ask the plant if it’s okay
• only pick what you need and leave the rest for the plant and others (birds, insects, animals and other folks)
• use your judgement - only pick from healthy plants that are away from pollutants such as traffic, dog poop, agricultural waste, etc.

a public archive of healthy seeds collected from many places and people

the seed archive is housed in chicago. the seed archive is particularly interested in seed that is food or medicinals, habitat building, shade creating and soil building. the archive only accepts, stores and loans viable, well-identified seeds.

seeds are alive. they need to be carefully stored in order to remain healthy and assure their germination. and well-identified. seed is loaned for free to those who are commited to growing them, enjoying them and returning some of the next generation of seed back to store at the seed archive. some seed is in smaller quantities and needs to be grown out from year to year to increase its supply. if you are interested in being a grower, please let me know.

there are four yearly opportunities to directly interact with and contribute to the archive: ‘swap n’ store’ days.

2006 seed archive ‘swap n’ store’:

• mar 26th (sun) 12-3pm, mess hall
• apr 3rd (sun) 12-3pm, 2446 south sawyer
• june 25th (sun) 12-3pm, 2446 south sawyer
• sept 24th (sun) 12-3pm, 2446 south sawyer

what to bring to a ‘swap and store’:

• healthy seeds to swap or/and store with the archive
• food and stories to share with others
• questions/ideas aboutseed collecting, saving, storing or growing

the seed archive is always ready and open to you. if seed needs to be posted or swapped with someone who is not local, basic postage needs to be covered. seed contributions/inquiries/requests at all other times can be addressed to:

salvation jane
the seed archive
2446 south sawyer avenue
chicago, il 60623
jane[at]salvationjane.net

who has access to the seed archive?
the seed archive is a public access archive and resource. anybody who is interested in growing and is committed to doing so. seeds are kept alive only by people planting them.

what kind of seed do you have at the seed archive?
anything from medicinals, culinary, ornamental, habitat creating and soil building seeds. some seeds are more unusual or uncommonly found. some of these seeds are very old heirlooms that have been grown out and handed down for centuries.

where do they come from?
from many places. they have been gathered from other seed banks, from individual growers, a few specialized commercial sources or have been foraged.

how do i get seeds?
just ask for them. i will send you the amount you need as long as the archive has it and you need only return to the archive 2x what i send you. this is what grows the archive.

how many can i ask for?
as many as you feel you can responsibly care for.

what if i don’t know what to grow or how to grow it?
the archive has some varieties of seed that need to be grown out more frequently than others. if you are willing to grow some, it is really helpful. also, you can always ask questions. it is part of the process that we share and learn from each other.

are there other ways of participating with the archive?
tell us your stories about growing, cooking, using seeds, volunteer ot help come to a ‘swap n’ store’

what is a ‘swap n’ store’?
it is an opportunity to come together and share stories, process seed (lots of winnowing and hulling going on!), ask questions, share stories and food, swap seeds and donate seeds to the archive. ‘swap n’ shares’ happen 4x yearly.

how do i contact the archive?
send an e-mail jane[at]salvationjane.net

Yesterday I had luxury,
read in honor of my birth,
gifted myself the time,
expected abundance
and took it, went
and read the words
I’ve collected months for
words like the colors of the dead
crayfish on my favorite beach
unexpected, sprung
like mushrooms, from prison,
surprised thumbs, from dark decay
the lightness of flight
remembered by
gulls laughing
bones in tall grass
tangled words
like spaghetti desire
words the shape of keys
as useful as found
five gallon buckets
on the way home

based in the appalachians, this green anarchist collective will guide you into primitive skills and wild foods. the producers of the ‘feral forager.’

radical faerie, author and fermentation guru, sandor katz aka sandorkraut’s site. info, encouragement and recipes - time to get busy in the kitchen!

members work to grow out and save seed of wild and rare medicinal plants that have been overly harvested.

an l.a. community-based art resource center, space and community kitchen invested in the sharing of backyard produce, discussion of social resources and community exchange.

started by physicist, seed, water and small farmer activist, vandana shiva, this organization’s farm grows and saves seed and teaches people about traditional indian food crops.

started by gary paul nabhan an ethnobotanist and arid soils expert. seed farm, seed bank, research and collection of indigenous crops and wild foods of american sw and northern mexico. working with indigenous groups to reintroduce these as well as collect stories of their use of these foods.

internationally diverse collaborative art group that works to identify and work with local economies, local environment, local issues. they are interested in how information and knowledge is produced and shared.

a great source for fermentation cultures of any kind. betty is lovely and has been doing this for 26 years.

martin crawford has compiled a huge amount of information about forest garden choices for sw england that remains useful for most temperate climates worldwide. seed and plant listings are extensive. his forest gardens are intensive, highly diverse and teeming with life.