We had the good fortune of connecting with Sherry Manning and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sherry, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Since 2015, Global Seed Savers has organized, educated, and mobilized over 5,000 smallholder and family farmers in creating seed sovereignty and fostering sustainable communities and regenerative ecosystems across the Philippines. What started with one family farm at our founding, has grow into a nationwide network of now 15 Seed Saving Communities across the 7,000 plus islands Philippines, all committed to growing a wide diversity of local seeds and preserving their food and cultural heritage. We also currently operating 2 Seed Sanctuaries that together are producing over 100 varieties of local seeds and serving as key educational centers to document and learn about local seed production trials.

In the Philippines, the stakes are even higher. As one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world, it is on average hammered by at least 20 typhoons annually. In fact, last year it had a record 5 back-to-back storms in under a month in October alone. Agriculture and farmers are not only on the frontlines of these challenges, they are also fighting food insecurity in Southeast Asia’s most food-insecure country. Nothing is more critical in responding to this than restoring a wide diversity of farmer-managed seeds.

Seed saving and our seed sovereignty movement ensure that households and communities across the Philippines restore a wide diversity of locally grown seeds. Open-pollinated seeds ensure that they can be planted time and time again and adapt to these changing climate realities. Seeds also play an essential role in preserving culture and food heritage.

At Global Seed Savers, our farmer mobilization ensures farmers are in the driver’s seat of what they plant, grow, harvest, and share. Ensuring the control of their food system is put back into their hands!

What should our readers know about your business?
Global Seed Savers was born out of my 2.5 years serving as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines from 2006-2008. I spent my service working side by side my host family, the Cosalan’s helping them execute their shared mission of having their ancestral land serve as a environmental and organic education center and eco-tourism destination. Inspired by the Cosalan families vision for this farm, ENCA, we initial founded the US non-profit as Friends of ENCA Farm to specifically support their farm and vision. As our work continued to grow and evolve I knew we needed to build beyond our origins and in 2017 we announced our new name of Global Seed Savers to better reflect our growing impact and goals beyond our founding story.

Today, Global Seed Savers is at an exciting moment of momentum and growth. We currently operate with 2 US Team Members and 7 full time Philippine Team Members. We have a US and Philippines Board of Directors to govern both entities and support the strategic directions of our growing impact.

What started with one family farm has grown into a robust movement of building food and seed sovereignty across the Philippines and ensuring farmers are in control of their food system. Seed saving and our seed sovereignty movement ensure that households and communities across the Philippines restore a wide diversity of locally grown seeds. Open-pollinated seeds ensure that they can be planted time and time again and adapt to these changing climate realities. Seeds also play an essential role in preserving culture and food heritage.

In my role as Founder and CEO of Global Seed Savers, I have worn nearly all the hats of what it takes to envision, run, manage and build an organization from the ground up. As our work continues to grow and evolve, I have been reflecting a lot and digging into the right role for me in this life cycle of the organization. As any organization scales, I believe it is the leaders responsibility to be responsible for the people/team who are responsible for the work. This is the moment we are in now and I could not be more proud of our team, partners and all who have helped us get to where we are today.

Just like seeds teach us to honor the past, the present, and the future I am also reflecting on those three stages of our collective work at Global Seed Savers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Always so much to do and see in Denver and beyond as an outdoor enthusiast I would center my itinerary around nature of course including: hiking at Lair O’ The Bear in Morrison, or Evergreen Mountain. I also fish so if they are up for fishing sometime on Clear Creek followed by drinks and food at The Eddy Hotel in Golden would be a must.

A Red Rocks show is always high on the list and we would pick up tamales from Pochitos in my neighborhood to enjoy while we tailgate at the concert.

Bike Ride from my house to the South Platte Trail and stop at The Table Public House for a coffee/drink/food before the ride back to Sunnyside.

Denver Botanic Gardens is always a win in the city for some urban nature and plenty of yummy food around after a visit there or even better pack a picnic to enjoy amongst the gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The credit for our movement and growth at Global Seed Savers over these last 10 plus years goes first and foremost to our dedicated partner farmers across the Philippines. They are the ones leading and doing the hard work of growing locally produced seeds and fighting to preserve their culture and heritage with each planting and harvest.

I also want to shout out our dynamic team at Global Seed Savers. These eight dedicated community development professionals catalyze our movement each day and work with very limited resources to ensure our shared mission of building food and seed sovereignty can continue to grow and deepen.

Without these people and their deep commitment to our work we would not be the organization we are today!

Website: https://www.globalseedsavers.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globalseedsavers?igsh=MWphbHpiN3lzdmxudg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-manning-b6936741/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlobalSeedSavers/

Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user101104810

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