Gardener's of Eden SEED Project

Planet Ark - Gardeners of Eden Project: Fundasaun Harii Au-Metan in collaboration with Just Coffee and Family Farm Defenders is seeking support for its work in sustainable agriculture and Permaculture in East Timor/Timor-Leste!

The ancient gardening traditions of local people have maintained resilient agricultural production systems for several thousand years. These gardeners have resisted the destructive Portuguese and Indonesian colonisations which reduced their forest production base, and have adopted and adapted to the new crops and technologies brought by each period. This project seeks to support the enrichment of the systems that have survived and proven their viability, as well as the introduction of improved intensive poly-cultural systems techniques.

gardeners of eden 1 We are now seeking vegetable and fruit seeds for trials, to grow out and multiply, in both coastal lowlands (small urban sites and ‘village farm’ in Dili) and the cooler mountain regions where coffee is the main commercial crop. We have already tested several new varieties of brassica, lettuce and other salad greens with great success, and this year want to expand our trials, as well as the number of families participating in seed multiplication.