Seeds from Forest House Cameroon, a good source of rare tropical fruit seeds.
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Collecting fruits for sale of rare seeds
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Teaching the next generation
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The Seed Hunting Project
Many tropical seeds are recalcitrant, meaning that they cannot be stored for any length of time, as they do not tolerate drying or freezing. This makes them unsuitable candidates for “seed vault” projects. One way to preserve the genetic diversity of these plants and trees, and to protect them for future generations, is to safeguard their wild habitat.
But the clearing of tropical forests continues for economic reasons, even though it is a vicious cycle of slash-and-burn, then moving on once when the resources are depleted. As man encroaches more and more into untouched rainforest with bigger and faster equipment, slash-and-burn agriculture is jeopardizing the health of the planet.
This occurs in some of the poorest places on the planet, so dealing with the problem of deforestation and bushmeat harvesting must address the poverty of the native populations.
Some small businesses in tropical nations are attempting to halt this cycle of plant and habitat loss by producing, collecting and marketing non-timber forest products, such as seeds. This sustainable harvesting can often produce more income than destructive historic practices, and helps build a culture of protecting local resources.
In Cameroon for example, large agro businesses and state-owned agro companies are converting vast expanses of biodiversity rich forests into oil palm plantations despite resistance from the local people. In these forests, indigenous resource use is basically at subsistence level, by way of small chop-farms, local hunting, and the collection of non timber forest products for home use. These are activities that have been sustaining these forests to date. These forests harbor plants that can still be researched for the benefit of humanity and there is a worldwide demand for plant material from tropical forests for various research purposes. Sadly, these forests are being cleared without exploring the opportunity of establishing a profitable export business of seed materials that can directly benefit the local people. Forest House Cameroon (foresthousecam@gmail.com ) is trying to help these people to strengthen their case against land grabbing by making them realize the economic value of their forest. This is done by liaising with local seed enterprises that purchase seeds from standing trees on a yearly basis motivating the local people not to sell these trees. The incomes from the seed sales can trigger conservation of sought-after trees and eventually the forests. Forest House sources and makes available edible, rare as well as threatened plant seeds for conservation.
To further this effort, I purchase seeds directly from businesses such as Forest House whenever possible. The process can be fraught with peril, since even with a valid USDA import permit, the transit time via mail is long enough that many seeds do not survive the journey. But the results are worth the price, in helping to preserve rare species and add to the stability of the local economy where these plants are found. We need to make sure that these wild jungles are available for our children and grandchildren.
Many tropical seeds are recalcitrant, meaning that they cannot be stored for any length of time, as they do not tolerate drying or freezing. This makes them unsuitable candidates for “seed vault” projects. One way to preserve the genetic diversity of these plants and trees, and to protect them for future generations, is to safeguard their wild habitat.
But the clearing of tropical forests continues for economic reasons, even though it is a vicious cycle of slash-and-burn, then moving on once when the resources are depleted. As man encroaches more and more into untouched rainforest with bigger and faster equipment, slash-and-burn agriculture is jeopardizing the health of the planet.
This occurs in some of the poorest places on the planet, so dealing with the problem of deforestation and bushmeat harvesting must address the poverty of the native populations.
Some small businesses in tropical nations are attempting to halt this cycle of plant and habitat loss by producing, collecting and marketing non-timber forest products, such as seeds. This sustainable harvesting can often produce more income than destructive historic practices, and helps build a culture of protecting local resources.
In Cameroon for example, large agro businesses and state-owned agro companies are converting vast expanses of biodiversity rich forests into oil palm plantations despite resistance from the local people. In these forests, indigenous resource use is basically at subsistence level, by way of small chop-farms, local hunting, and the collection of non timber forest products for home use. These are activities that have been sustaining these forests to date. These forests harbor plants that can still be researched for the benefit of humanity and there is a worldwide demand for plant material from tropical forests for various research purposes. Sadly, these forests are being cleared without exploring the opportunity of establishing a profitable export business of seed materials that can directly benefit the local people. Forest House Cameroon (foresthousecam@gmail.com ) is trying to help these people to strengthen their case against land grabbing by making them realize the economic value of their forest. This is done by liaising with local seed enterprises that purchase seeds from standing trees on a yearly basis motivating the local people not to sell these trees. The incomes from the seed sales can trigger conservation of sought-after trees and eventually the forests. Forest House sources and makes available edible, rare as well as threatened plant seeds for conservation.
To further this effort, I purchase seeds directly from businesses such as Forest House whenever possible. The process can be fraught with peril, since even with a valid USDA import permit, the transit time via mail is long enough that many seeds do not survive the journey. But the results are worth the price, in helping to preserve rare species and add to the stability of the local economy where these plants are found. We need to make sure that these wild jungles are available for our children and grandchildren.