Beidh Tommy Hayes (Irish Seed Savers) mar duine des na cainteoirí don comhdháil a bheidh ar siúl Satharn Féile na Laoch ar a 2 a chlog in Óstán Ghobnatan, Baile Mhúirne. ‘An Todhchaí- The Future’ is teideal do comhdháil agus beidh 5 cainteoirí ar fad ann a bheidh ag cuir comhairle orainn maidir leis an gcéad seacht mbliana eile atá ós ár gcóir amach.
Tommy Hayes (Irish Seed Savers) will be one of the speakers at the conference that will take place the saturday of Féile na Laoch at 2pm in the Abbey Hotel, Ballyvourney. ‘An Todhchaí-The Future’ is the title of the conference which will consist of five speakers who will advise us on the coming seven years.
All over the world there are seed saving organisations, each doing its part in safeguarding
the seeds which have been grown by farmers and gardeners for decades or even centuries. Ireland has its own seed saving organisation, The Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA), a non-profit making company set up by Anita Hayes in 1991. It now has over 400 members in Northern Ireland and the Republic, a membership which is growing rapidly. People don’t like to see the vegetables from their childhood (or their grandparents’ childhood) dying out, a fact which has been borne out by the incredible interest and generosity of people from all over Ireland who have provided the ISSA with seeds and information.
The ISSA exists to cultivate our heritage seeds, distributing these seeds to members of the Association and teaching people how to regain the knowledge of past generations, saving seeds for the future. This ensures genetic diversity and the preservation of potentially valuable genetic characteristics such as disease resistance. Reliance on an ever-decreasing genetic base with less and less variety available can only increase the chances of the failure of an entire crop. The consequences of such a disaster, particularly on a poor rural population, are only too well known in Ireland.
