News From the Field: 
Expanding Programs to Mountain Province and Beyond

L-R: Ma'am Hazel from the Province. Ma'am Lina Owner of Layog Farm, and Karen our Country Manager pictured at Layog Farm during the visit.

Last month our Country Manager Karen traveled six hours north to Sagada in Mt. Province to meet with our new partners and finalize the plans for our upcoming Seed School to be held there next month.

This Seed School continues the expansion of our technical training programs to new regions of the Philippines, as we introduce our successful model from Benguet Province across the country. During her visit, Karen met with the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Mt. Province and the Governor's Office. Both are in full support of our programs and look forward to developing long-term collaborations with us.  The PAO Office will invite attendees to the Seed School and organize transportation for the program.

The Seed School training will be held at the beautiful Layog Country Farm located in Tadian, Mountain Province. Layog is a family farm and an established training facility with beautiful grounds including; a seminar room, lodging for participants, and hectares of demo gardens for hands-on learning during the Seed School. We are excited about these new partners and are looking forward to a successful Seed School in Mt. Province next month!
Sharing Seeds with IDP Camps in the Southern Philippines

Earlier this month we were contacted by the organizers of Green ReLeaf Initiative who are working with Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) Camps in Marawi, Mindanao in the Southern Philippines. They are helping displaced Filipinos to establish organic gardens in the camps.

In May of last year conflict broke out in this region and has been under Government declared   Martial Law ever since. According to the International Organization for Migration : "There are 353,626 individuals or 77,175 families displaced from Marawi after conflict flared up last May between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and ISIS-inspired Maute Group. "

We are happy to share seeds with this worthy partner organization and are starting conversations about how we can bring Seed School to these IDP camps in the coming years. The initial seeds we are sharing with them will be used to help plant a healing garden at a local elementary school that is located across the street from an IDP tent city, housing 68 families from the most heavily impacted communities by the ongoing conflict in Marawi. The seeds and garden will be stewarded by the families living in the tent city and help supply their food for the coming season.
Welcome Field Volunteers: 
Lapu-Lapu and Tamara  April 16th-April 25th  

We are excited to welcome and host Lapu-Lapu and Tamara as volunteers in the Philippines April 16th-April 25th. They learned about our work through a Peace Corps Connection to our Founder, and, as fellow RPCVs, we are thrilled to have them engage with our farmers and programs during their upcoming personal volunteer trip in the Philippines.

More About Lapu and Tamara

Tamara is originally from Lawrence, Kansas and loves to garden and grow vegetables. She currently lives in Washington, DC and works at Peace Corps Headquarters. Tamara supports Peace Corps staff around the world through training and professional development activities.  Prior to Peace Corps, she worked in international child welfare and community organizing in Baltimore, MD. Tamara holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and a Master of Social Work from University of Maryland. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala 2005-2007 and as a Response Volunteer in Colombia 2013-2014 where her primary project was food security. Tamara is part of a community garden in Washington, DC and grows lettuce, peas, onions, beets, carrots, tomatoes and more!

Lapu is a Filipino-American that currently works at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC. He has over seven years of international experience living, working & volunteering in East Africa, Central America, South America, and South East Asia. In addition, he has 14+ years of administrative and human resources support experience coupled with creative & technical expertise in print media, web design, and photography. He has a strong interest in agriculture and environment projects and has been assisting at a local community garden. He communicates in Tagalog, Spanish, Kenya Sign Language, English and has recently taken an interest in learning Arabic.

We know you will enjoy working with our farmers and we welcome you to the Global Seed Savers Family!
Film Screening of 
Modified-A Food Loves Journey into GMO's

Thursday, April 26th 6pm-8pm 


Join us for our 4th Annual Film Screening Event. This year we are pleased to be screening the feature-length documentary-memoir, MODIFED . This film questions why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in Canada and the United States, despite being labeled in 64 other countries around the world.

Shot over a span of ten years, the film follows the grassroots struggle to label GMO foods, exposing the cozy relationship between the biotech industry and governments. The film is anchored in the moving story of the filmmaker's relationship to her mom, a prolific gardener, seed saver, and food activist who died of cancer while the film's production was underway.

We are excited to have filmmaker Aube Giroux join us for a virtual post-screening Q&A. Discounted pre-sale tickets can be purchased HERE and will  include light refreshments.
Global Seed Savers

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