Seed Saving - Building a Community Seed Bank - Myanmar

Lisu Theoogical Seminary

page developed by Ann Collet, ARI Volunteer

submitted July 2024

Why save and store seeds?

2012 ARI Graduate, Thaung Si, is a farmer and instructor at the Lisu Theological Seminary School. He is passionate about seed saving. He has started a community seed bank in Myanmar where he teaches how to grow crops for seed harvesting, seed collection, and seed storage. He shares and trades seeds with people everywhere he goes.

https://scrapbox.io/files/66a87420006989001da59cff.JPG

Thaung Si's seed garden project in Pyin Oo Lwin

The borders to China were closed in Myanmar. Prices of seed were tripling.

The seed bank is an important source of seed for the community to grow food. It is not only for the seminary.

Thaung Si's goal is self-sufficiency. Small gardeners need help from seed banks, they can get many different kinds of vegetables, to grow what they want to eat. They should not depend so much on the international market. Farmers and gardeners can develop their own seed banks, they are not only reducing the reliance on seed companies but also enabling the sharing of locally adapted plant varieties.

Seed saving and storage are also crucial for the preservation of plant genetic diversity, food security, and sustainability.

Climate change and natural disasters, like wildwires, huricanes, tsunami or even human wars can lead to the loss of seed stock, highlighting the need for seed banks.

Seed Garden: What kind of seeds?

Thaung Si has a nice kitchen garden. It is used as a seed garden. In a seed garden, plants are grown to produce seed. This means that growth is allowed for a longer period of time before the seed can be harvested from the plant, through the overgrown fruit or from the dried-up flowers. The seed is then removed (seed saving from the seed garden), dried (in a seed dryer), and stored (in containers, in a seed bank).

A closer view of the garden: plants are grown for seed collection, not fruit!

Thaung Si collects many different plant seeds in this garden: carrot, cabbage, sweet bean, long bean, lettuce (red and green), radish (3 kinds: summer, winter, rain - season), corn, and mustard. He tries to have many varieties for different types of crops in the region, so his focus is on local varieties. To create even more diversity, he aims to have a regional network of seed banks.

How to dry and store the seeds?

https://scrapbox.io/files/66a874114a2c3e001c936d63.jpg

Overmature, dried corn for seed collection

The storage of seeds is equally important as the act of saving them:

1. The seeds must be completely dry before being stored to prevent damage due moistrue.

2. The storage containers should be airtight and stored in a cool, dark location.

3. The good and correct storage helps to maintain seed viability for extended periods.

Seed dryer from the outside / Labels for each different type of seed

https://scrapbox.io/files/66a873ffbf657b001dafc1ba.JPG

Seed dryer on the inside: a fan provides extra cooling

Dry seeds ready for storage / Seed storage in airtight glass containers

Thaung Si also uses plastic bags to store seeds.

He labels each bag with the plant species to ensure an easy identification later on.

Plastic seed packets with labels

Seed bank for seed storage

Not only the saving of seeds is important, also the storage! In Myanmar, Thaung Si decided to build a mud house for his community seed bank. For a dark and cool environment, the seed dryer and and seed storage are kept inside this mud house. The mud house offers a natural, sustainable, and effective means of storing seeds. Thaung Si built this kind of mud house for his seminary school, as well as one for his own seed storage.

https://scrapbox.io/files/66a873e7d127cf001c4f68cb.JPG

Mud house: a good seed bank

How to build a mud house?

Thaung Si's mud house was constructed using rice husk and mud, which were mixed together to create a robust and durable structure. The drying process of the mud bricks can be time-consuming, but once the building is complete, it provides a cold and secure storage space for seeds. Thaung Si asked for help from his community, and even worked in collaboration with a monk to complete the project.

“I requested the monk to build the mud house even though we are a Christian seminary.”

Working with the community to build a mud house

For an 11 square mud house, Thaung Si needed 4 mounts with the help of another person. The amount of time that the building takes, depends on the size of the house.

What are the challenges of a seed bank?

The growing of a lot of different kind of vegetable can be very difficult. You need a lot of space to grow different kinds. It will take a long time to grow and save seeds, to really build a big seed bank.

Thaung Si needed quite some time to collect all his seeds. He does not have a lot of space in his seminary garden and must take care of the pollination of the plants.

How to involve the community?

Community engagement, sharing, and the swapping of seeds are effective methods of expanding and diversifying seed banks. Thaung Si has connected with other farmers and organizations, such as ECHO Asia, to extend his seed bank and promote sustainable living.

In 2011 Thaung Si was able to attend a training in Thailand wich was associated by ECHO Asia. Their connection is still important even up to now.

The Lisu Theological Seminary School where Thaung Si works, also offers a training program in sustainable living, which helps to develop the skills needed to manage seed banks effectively. This training program later became a course at the local university, and this course now attracts more students to the university.

https://scrapbox.io/files/66a873d2e9a538001c1e934f.png

Lisu Theological Seminary School

That is what Thaung Si has to say. Just do whatever you are doing and concentrate on your interests, you will realize you don’t need much!

https://scrapbox.io/files/63ef2129cd5691001b461c09.jpg

Thaung Si and his children

Video

If you want to see more from Thaung Si here is a Video about his life in Myanmar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TB06wsD_YA

_________