It all started with a seed donation from a local grower who passed away. In his honor, we decided to try to grow out some of the corn varieties he left behind. Thus started a quest to locate the elders, the growers, and the locals who are growing and saving seeds unique to BROWN COUNTY, Indiana. Since then, we had collected enough seeds which formed the Brown County Seed Lending Library which houses over 65 varieties of heirloom corn, bean, herbs, grains, native plants, wildflower seeds that have been grown or collected from our region. These seeds are housed in a de-centralized system in our community. This means they live in the ground, in jars and in freezers and in packets of the beloved people who participate in our project by growing, sharing, or attending our events.
**SEED was sprouted & registered with the state in 2016, and structured as a “not for profit.” Pre-Covid we were an event based organization and you would find SEED Bro Co at local markets and food events. We were grant funded, w/ a small budget and lots of time dedicated to tabling events. During Covid, the Brown County Barter group began and our online groups and community strengthened. Check out our groups: SEED, Barter, Seed Circle, Elderberry For Everyone, & Tool Share. As of 2022, SEED Brown County is dissolved as a 501c3 org, and is described as a community project for the people by the people. No leader, just a couple community facilitators behind the vision of the founder, and an ever evolving project to bring people together in the name of seeds, with out all the red tape. Just people who love to share in seeds. We host annual Spring and Fall seed swaps, and host seed shares where seeds are given to the community for free. No seeds are ever needed to attend our events. Always a free service to the community. As we move forward, the hope is to support a seed library at our library while supplying seeds to the community via a couple seed swaps & farmers market Sundays at our local Farmer’s market.
