Imagine a scene of controlled chaos, whereby a group of men and women, young and old, are huddled around a table jostling for position, eager to grab what lies before them. Only no one is angry, everyone seems to be smiling, and the valuable commodity before the crowd is something so simple. No one is handing out cash despite what it may seem, nor food, nor donation; this is an exchange of seed! This is the scene of an ECHO Seed Swap, one of many hosted across different sites in Myanmar in recent years.
Across Myanmar, hundreds of packets of seeds have exchanged hands through these events over the last 5 years, some from the ECHO Asia Seed Bank, others from ECHO’s partner seed banks across the country, and many more from the hands of farmers themselves — a combination of underutilized crop varieties, improved cultivars, and hard-to-find species. With the many seeds exchanged, so too have been the techniques and practices passed on, typically through the training workshops preceding these seed swaps.
In the past 5 years, ECHO has been on the ground to train and pass on seed in Shan State, Sagaing State, Kachin State, Mandalay, the Irrawaddy Delta region, and the city of Yangon, places that are not easy to access, nor popular to go. These on-site events are in addition to the many partners that were able to travel and train with the team in Thailand at the ECHO Asia Small Farm Resource Center.
Now, in the midst of a military coup, with borders closed and civil unrest unfolding, there is hope in knowing that so many seeds were exchanged. Seeds that will continue to produce in places where trainings have ceased, seeds that will multiply in locations where visiting our partners is no longer possible. There is hope in knowing that we were able to plant seeds, of many different types, into the lives of people that now so desperately
need them.
Seed Banks Established and Staff Trained
Not only have seeds been swapped and
exchanged, and passed on from the ECHO Asia Seed Bank, partners are building self-sustaining seed banks. In recent years, several ‘Community Seed Banks’ have been developed, through technical support from ECHO Asia teams, and personnel training through a Seed Bank Manager Internship program in Thailand.
“Now several surrounding communities can benefit from a supply of locally propagated seed varieties...”
Thaung Maggie, a recent ECHO Asia Seed Bank Manager Intern, has already returned to Myanmar to serve as Seed Bank Manager for the Lisu Baptist Theological Seminary and is hosting seed saving training events for her local community. Now several surrounding communities can benefit from a supply of locally propagated seed varieties, a valuable resource in a country living with so much uncertainty.
It is hard to see the current challenges that our partners are facing daily in Myanmar, but we are grateful for the many opportunities we had to go and support them when we could. We pray now that all of those seeds may be planted, watered, and multiplied for God’s glory, and to the benefit of those that need them.
