Peliti Seed Festival Preserving a Future for Heirlooms

IT WAS A FRIGID, foggy April morning in the Rhodope Mountains of Greece. Thousands of eager seed savers and gardeners stood awaiting the opening of what’s believed to be the world’s largest seed swap: the Peliti Seed Festival. This seed exchange is an annual event that takes place in the small mountain village of Paranesti, situated in northern Greece near the Bulgarian border. The Peliti team, a group of dedicated seed savers that grow and distribute traditional Greek seeds to the public, considers this generous giveaway a living seed bank. For one weekend each year in late April, Paranesti is swept into a frenzy of gardening enthusiasm as thousands make the journey to receive free seeds from the team of seed savers.

This epic seed swap is just one element in a larger event called The Olympic Seed Festival, which is part celebration and part conference, with the goal of fighting for the future of heirloom seeds in Europe. Each year,