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[seedsavers] A Modest Proposal
The Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) has hit a rough patch in its operations. The
founder has been kicked out of the organization that he founded. It is much
more probable that the organization won't be very organized in the near
future. The SSE is too important to allow the work that it does to lapse
without replacement of at least the exchange function as exemplified by the
SSE Catalog.
The exchange function can be easily implemented with current technology using
a combination of email, blog, and wiki. An existing example of much of the
background information presented in the Catalog being created is Wikipedia.
An entry for the Baldwin or Woodpecker apple can be created that is the
equivalent of the background information that is in Catalog for Apples.
The starting point would be the entry for Apples which already exists:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples
There is currently a nice table in a linked article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apple_cultivars
in which the Baldwin entry leads to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_(apple).
The wikipedia has the latter entry marked, "You can help Wikipedia by
expanding it." There are two sections of the Catalog that would be replaced:
Contributors - instead of physical address use an anonymous email address as
in craigslist. The email will be forwarded to the contributor's email
address. The contributor's email portion of the exchange function is in the
email list:
seed saving and exchange <seedsavers@lists.ibiblio.org>
Plants - for each type of plant (Apples) and variety (Baldwin) the contributor
would enter the information for their contribution to the Seed Saver Wiki
(SSW). This wiki entry would contain their own information about what they
were offering or wanted along with their anonymous email address (such as
NEWOJ1@lists.ibiblio.org). The actual catalog entries would be used by going
through the plant then variety lists looking for an entry of interest. When
one was found, the user would send an email to the anonymous email address
(such as NEWOJ1) which in turn would be sent to the actual email address.
The wiki and the blog would make it easy to create and enhance background
information on anything from amaranth seed storage training videos to
xerophyte cultivation in rain forests. We can really spread out and make it
easier to train ourselves to conserve and enhance the rich heritage still
available to us.
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