A Hungry man is an Angry man

[dirtsunrain]

Two of the things that really hooked me into this board were the discussions about the Kokopelli situation and the loss of heritage foods in Iraq.
To that end, I've been toying with the idea of sending food seeds overseas to Afganistan with our Canadian troops. If more people are growing wheat, instead of opium, than the Taliban have less of a hold on the populace.

I'd like to set this up as a promotion thru my little seed company. Give people a coupon to paste, and I donate a parcel of seed for them. That way they have the choice of supporting me or not.
I live on a BIgAG farm, with access to a massive amount of Sable wheat and other grains. I have some connections in the military thru friends and there are some big bases not an unreasonable distance away.
I've made enough money in my life, I have a need to do more to give back to this world and this seems like a way to do it.

Does anyone have any links to help me find my way? NATO has a good overview of the situation and acknowledges that hunger is a major factor in Afganistan. They dont have much arable land, and much of that is going to poppy production.
Any suggestions would be welcome.

[mnjrutherford]

A family friend is in Afghanistan now. I am sending her seed donated for the purpose from other members as well as myself. The idea being that she can at least throw down the seed around the compound they live in. Photos show that there is nothing growing in that space but that may be because it's chemically treated or it may be because of traffic. It's in the southern Helmond province and it's extrememly arrid. I had the notion that she could give seed packets to people she came into contact with when she left the compound. However, she hasn't/doesn't leave the compound.

There are many realistic possibilities... I haven't been able to make anything work the way I would like it to... yet. Can you hone in on your ideas a little better? We live next door to Camp LeJeune so I can give you access to people going and coming from the area. I can also affirm or deny feasibility for certain ideas regarding access to the guys.

[dirtsunrain]

The Canadian do interact in the streets with the local people. They go into villages and help with projects, like well building etc. We had have our share of tragic losses due to soldiers traveling the highways laced with hidden bombs.

I think there is potential to move seeds out into the districts. I'm still looking at what the restrictions are for our troops. I know there is a program here in the schools where the kids gather shoe boxes of school supplies that get handed out - maybe seeds could go in there?

What kinds of seeds is your friend scattering about? What is the need for food? The NATO site is focusing on donated wheat for farmers, but what makes up the local diet? Does anyone know?

[mnjrutherford]

This part of the world gave birth to most of our grains, wheat, rye, barley. Fruits like melons, apples, ... hmmm... brain flux... herbs are very important to their diet, such as oregano, cumin, basil, rosemary, and such.

OH! I just had a thought, try looking up menus for Afghanistani restaurants! That would give you a fair idea of things.

I've worked on that shoebox project and I would always contribute seed packets. The drawback there being you never knew where precisely the shoe boxes were going.

Sounds to me like you have better access to outside the wire than I do.

[mnjrutherford]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_cuisine

There ya go! I googled "afghanistan food" and that is a link to the WikiPedia offering.

I've got to run for now... I have to make a scarf for my baby boy.

[bunkie]

i just want to start off by saying that patrick is always reminding me to be careful about what organizations i refer to and such. and to be sure to check them out wisely.

that being said, i googled 'food seeds for Afghanistan' and found some links of interest, that have projects and addies to send seed and a lot of info on their gardening history and types of food...

www.afghanrelief.org/aro-projects/greenhouse-project

"....Hundreds of home gardeners, individuals, nurseries and seed companies have contributed seeds as part of this simple, highly successful grassroots effort. Among our donors are Seeds of Change, Botanical Interests, Inc., and Seed Savers......"

www.imow.org/economica/stories/viewStory?storyId=4766

www.theafghanseeds.org/

[mnjrutherford]

This is awesome Bunkie! The link to the first website is VERY slow... possibly because of web construction issues? If it's slow for others but you want to get to the nitty gritty of the site, this is the part I think will be most important to you:

Donations of seeds can be mailed or delivered to:

In Colorado:
Jennifer Heath
Seeds for Afghanistan
Afghanistan Relief Organization
1838 Pine Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303-444-1886
Email: [e-mail]

In California:
Nazi Etemadi
Seeds for Afghanistan
Afghanistan Relief Organization
P.O. Box 866
Cypress, CA 90630 USA
818-258-3333
Email: [e-mail]

Important Seed Donor Information:

Please make sure seeds can grow successfully in “Zone 4” climate areas—arid to semi arid—with cold winters and hot summers.

In light of Afghanistan’s significant environmental devastation, it is preferable to send non-GMO and organic seeds whenever possible. Please note that mercury-coated seeds are especially hazardous, if, during times of famine, people are forced to eat their seed stock.

The Afghan diet is primarily wheat, fruits, nuts and meat. Popular vegetables include tomatoes, corn, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, garlic, leek, onion, scallion, radish, pumpkin, cucumbers, peppers, chiles, carrots, spinach and lettuce, among others. (It is best to avoid “exotics,” such as mizumi.)

Primary herbs utilized for food include: cilantro, basil, oregano, mint and garlic.

Afghans were once famous worldwide for their love of flowers! All kinds of flower seeds – from cosmos to sunflowers, geraniums to roses, are welcome, with the exception of poppies. Poppy seeds will be discarded or distributed to American gardeners.

Please be mindful of seeds that can spread quickly and impact the land and grazing animals negatively (such as kudzu, jimson weed, datura).

Fruit and nut tree seeds that have been handled against pests and sealed in packages are very welcome!

[dirtsunrain]

There is some wonderful info here! You guys are great.
I'll run with this and let you know how I make out.

Thanks especially to "the other Jo" for her inspiring words....

[bunkie]

thanks for posting the info jo. i thought of doing that part, but wasn't sure what you all needed.

do keep us informed dirtsunrain!

[dirtsunrain]

Here's an update...

I contacted the nice people at the www.the afganseeds link because they offered a Canadian connection. The lady explained about their work in Afganistan and said that they werent set up to take seeds. They were only using indigenious seeds and were trying to rebuild stock. They have been having problems with the govt confiscating any seeds that they tried to bring in.
That night, I flipped open my latest issue of the seed saving magazine from Seeds of Diversity (the Canadian version of SSE) and there was an article devoted to the project. There were some photos of the experimental farm and pictures of the beleagured farmer who is determined to bring food back to his neighbours.

The perfect fit for me is a Canadian charity called USC Canada. They attack world hunger thru education. I remember their Tv commercials from my childhood - USC - 56 Sparks Street Ottawa - is still stuck in my head. I'm donating a pittance from every seed order in the hopes that it might add up to something worthwhile.
This is their website www.usc-canada.org
Their Seeds of Survival charity is something that speaks to what we all seem to believe in here at HG.

[plantsnobin]

Thanks for that link, didn't have time to look through it all but will get back to it.