Southeast Seed

Video series

THE COLLABORATION

In 2021 the Utopian Seed Project and Communal Studios received a grant from Southern SARE to create a Southeast Seed video series. The project traveled across 12 states and interviewed over 50 farmers, community gardeners, seed savers, seed growers and seed advocates. The footage was weaved together to tell the story and seed saving of six southern crops: corn, okra, southern peas, collards, sweet potatoes and squash.

A man speaking into a microphone against a bright green background. He is wearing a white shirt with a green design, a beige hat, and a yellow wristband.

How to Save Seed for 6 Important Crops

This short introduction to the Southeast Seed video series introduces some of the interviewees and the crops that we’ll explore throughout the video series. Get inspired and learn how to grow and save seed in the Southeast.

Why Saving Seeds Matters

This is the final episode of our Southeast Seed video series and concludes with the message that regional seed saving and seed growing is as important today as it ever was, in fact it’s maybe more important that you claim seed sovereignty in times of global unrest and climate change.

the project team

Chris Smith, Project Manager

Chris Smith is the executive director of the Utopian Seed Project, a research focused non-profit working to support climate resilient food and farming through crop and varietal diversity. Chris is enthusiastic about okra: His book, The Whole Okra, won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2020 and he is co-host of The Okra Pod Cast. He is the 2023 recipient of the Organic Growers School Organic Educator Award.

Graphic design celebrating collard greens with illustrations of collard leaves along the top and bottom, surrounded by names of different collard varieties and regional references, with the words 'collards celebrate diversity' in the center.

Reji Blackwood, The Entire Film Crew!

Reji Blackwood

Thanks to our video series sponsors:

A woman with curly hair, wearing a white long-sleeve top over a black shirt, is smiling in front of a green screen background.

Theresa Kadish, Editor

Theresa Kadish is a filmmaker and Ph.D candidate in Biology at Binghamton University. Her tiktok account presents topics in sustainability and science education to half a million followers. Theresa is a member of Glomus Commune, an income sharing agricultural collective. Her cookbook: A Curious Harvest: The Practical Art of Cooking Everything, offers a handy guide to cooking with excess, be it from a bumper harvest or from the dumpster.