DOC 6 · LIVING INFRASTRUCTURE · SACRED SEEDS

LIVING INFRASTRUCTURE

Seed Bank Blueprint

A networked model of community seed houses for food sovereignty and the conservation of Amazonian agrobiodiversity

Document 6 · Technical and governance blueprint - a basis for co-design with the communities

4rest4all Association

CNPJ 66.464.130/0001-93

Flora Ardenghi Dutra - Founder and Executive Director

Technical partner: 751.Earth · Green Climate Fund proposal - 2026

Version: June 2026

Preliminary document, subject to validation through Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

Preliminary document. This blueprint does not establish a seed bank. It organizes principles, structure and protocols so that each community can decide, with autonomy, whether and how it wishes to set up its seed house. No seed is collected, cataloged or moved without the authorization of the guardian community and without Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

1. Why a networked seed bank

Traditional seeds are the material basis of food sovereignty and the living record of thousands of years of selection by the peoples of the Amazon - especially by women, who have historically guarded, selected and passed on the varieties. Each variety carries not only genetics, but knowledge of cultivation, ecological calendar, food and medicinal use, and cultural meaning.

Sacred Seeds proposes a networked model, not a central bank. Instead of concentrating seeds in a single location - far from the communities, vulnerable and outside Indigenous control - the project supports community seed houses, one per territory (or per community), connected by exchange and a common protocol. The seed stays where it is grown, in the care of those who know it.

Central principle: the best conservation of a traditional seed is to keep planting it. The bank supports living cultivation - it does not replace it with a freezer.

2. Guiding principles

Principle	What it means in practice
Community governance	The community decides what comes in, who accesses it and how it is used. The bank belongs to the community, not to the project or to external partners.
Seed sovereignty	The varieties and associated knowledge belong to the peoples. There is no transfer of ownership to third parties.
Guardians' leadership	The women who already guard the seeds lead the selection, recording and management of the seed house.
Permanent FPIC	Free, Prior and Informed Consent for each stage - not a one-time signature, but an ongoing dialogue.
No extraction	Cataloging does not authorize collection; recording does not authorize commercialization. Each use requires specific authorization.
Living knowledge	The record serves the community first: strengthening transmission across generations, not creating an outward-facing archive.
Simplicity and autonomy	Appropriate, low-cost, locally repairable technology that the community can operate without external dependence.

3. Networked model

The architecture has three levels, all under Indigenous governance:

Level 1 - Roças, chakras and home gardens (in situ / on-farm)

This is where the seed lives and reproduces. The main conservation happens in each family's cultivation. The seed house exists to support that cultivation, never to replace it.

Level 2 - Community seed house (one per community or territory)

A simple physical structure where the community stores, dries, organizes and multiplies a safety stock of local varieties. It works as a reference point, a place of exchange, and a way to recover a variety if it is lost from some garden.

Level 3 - Network between territories (exchange)

The seed houses of the seven territories connect through fairs, exchanges and a common protocol. Exchange only occurs between communities that consent, respecting what each people considers open, restricted or sacred. There is no central node controlling the network.

What the network is NOT: it is not a centralized gene bank, not a repository outside the territories, not a public database of varieties, and not a mechanism for third-party access to genetic resources.

4. Types of conservation

Type	Where	Role in the model
In situ	Roças, chakras, managed forests	Main conservation - the seed keeps evolving in its environment.
On-farm	Home gardens and family units	Diversity maintained by each guardian family.
Community ex situ	The community seed house	Safety stock and multiplication, short to medium term.

The focus is living conservation (in situ and on-farm). The seed house (community ex situ) is a local short-to-medium-term insurance - not a very-long-term archive nor a substitute for cultivation.

5. Physical structure of the seed house

A seed house can be modest and still effective. The essentials are controlling humidity, heat, light and pests, with locally available and repairable materials.

Element	Practical guidance
Location	A ventilated, shaded building, protected from rain and flooding; an existing community structure can be adapted.
Drying	A shaded drying area; in humid climates, use ash, silica or simple solar dryers before storage.
Storage	Airtight containers (glass jars, lidded buckets, reused bottles), labeled, on shelves away from the floor and wall.
Humidity control	Reusable drying agents; seeds stored well dried, which is the main defense against fungi and weevils.
Pest control	Traditional methods (ash, smoke, repellent plants) and periodic inspection; avoid synthetic chemicals.
Organization	Shelves by variety, with a label and the record notebook nearby; oldest stock used first (rotate the stock).
Energy	Offline and electricity-free as the default model; refrigeration only if the community wishes and can maintain it.

6. Cataloguing: the seed notebook

Recording starts simply, in a physical notebook, led by the guardians. Each variety gets a fiche. The notebook belongs to the community and stays in the territory.

Fiche per variety

Field	Content
Name in the language	The original name of the variety in the people's language.
Common / scientific name	When available, for technical dialogue - without replacing the name in the language.
Use	Food, medicinal, ritual, handicraft, fodder, multiple.
Season	Planting and harvest calendar; relation to rains and ecological cycles.
Origin / history	Who it came from, how long it has been cultivated, associated history.
Guardian	The person or family responsible for the variety.
Access level	Public, restricted, confidential or sacred (see section 7).
Status	Abundant, rare, or at risk of being lost - to prioritize multiplication.

7. Data and intellectual property protocol

Not all knowledge should be recorded, and not all records should circulate. Each variety and each piece of information receives an access level, defined by the community:

Level	Who accesses	Examples
Public	Can be shared freely	Existence of cassava varieties, general food uses.
Restricted	Only the community and authorized partners	Garden locations, quantities, specific guardians.
Confidential	Only the community	Detailed management and selection techniques.
Sacred	Neither recorded nor shared	Ritual knowledge and varieties of ceremonial use.

Legal framework. Access to genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge in Brazil is governed by Law 13,123/2015 and its decree, and internationally by the Nagoya Protocol. Any research, collection beyond the garden, or commercial use requires registration/authorization, a benefit-sharing contract and consent - and this bank, on its own, does not authorize any of those uses.

Against biopiracy: recording the origin and guardian of each variety, and keeping access levels, is also a defense - it creates documentary proof of community origin and makes misappropriation by third parties more difficult.

8. Operational flow

The seed house's work cycle, always led by the guardians and authorized by the community:

Selection in the garden - choosing the best mother plants, according to traditional criteria.
Authorized harvest - only of agreed varieties and quantities, without depleting the garden.
Drying - reducing humidity in the shade before storing.
Recording - filling in or updating the fiche in the seed notebook.
Storage - in a labeled container, on the corresponding shelf.
Multiplication - periodic replanting to renew the stock and not lose viability.
Exchange - trading with other families and territories, as consented.
Replanting in the gardens - closing the cycle: the seed returns to the soil, which is its place.

9. Governance and guardianship

Each seed house is managed by the community, with a central role for the women guardians and a link to the territory's Indigenous association.

Function	Responsibility
Seed guardians	Select, record, multiply and decide on the varieties; lead the seed house.
Territory's association	Represents the community in agreements, keeps the FPIC protocols and mediates exchange.
Community council	Defines access levels and decides what is open, restricted or sacred.
Project support (4rest4all / partners)	Technical support, training and resources - at the community's request, without deciding for it.

10. Appropriate technology

The rule is to start simple and offline. Every solution should be operable and repairable by the community itself.

Physical first: the paper seed notebook as the main, sovereign record.
Optional local backup: simple digitization (photos, an offline spreadsheet) kept in the territory, with no cloud by default.
No internet dependence: nothing essential should require a connection; connectivity is an exception, not a requirement.
Sensitive data off external services: garden locations and restricted/sacred levels do not go to third-party platforms.

11. Monitoring indicators

Indicator	What it measures
Varieties cataloged	Number of varieties recorded per territory (with consent).
Varieties recovered	Nearly lost varieties brought back into cultivation.
Active guardians	People - mainly women - involved in guardianship and recording.
Exchanges carried out	Seed exchanges between families and between territories.
Active seed houses	Structures operating and in community use.
Area replanted with traditional seeds	Gardens and areas recovered from the bank's stock.

12. Implementation phases

Phase	Focus	Main steps
1. Dialogue and FPIC	The community's decision	Meetings, listening to the guardians, defining access levels, FPIC record.
2. Pilot	Prove the simple model	1-2 territories; seed notebook, modest house, first fiches and drying.
3. Consolidation	Full operation	Multiplication, recording routine, training more guardians, first exchanges.
4. Network	Connection between territories	Seed fairs, common exchange protocol, integration into the project's MEL.

13. Reference budget (per seed house)

Indicative figures for planning, to be adjusted with each community. They do not constitute a financial commitment.

Item	Nature	Note
Adaptation of the physical structure	One-time investment	Simple refurbishment/adaptation, local materials where possible.
Containers and shelving	One-time investment	Jars, buckets, labels, shelves.
Drying and control materials	Recurring	Drying, reusable drying agents, pest management.
Notebooks and recording	Recurring	Physical material; optional digital backup.
Training of the guardians	Recurring	Workshops and exchange of knowledge between territories.
Support to the guardians	Recurring	Recognition of guardianship work, as agreed by the community.

14. Risks and safeguards

Risk	Safeguard
Biopiracy / misappropriation	Access levels, record of origin and guardian, Law 13,123/2015 and Nagoya, sensitive data off external platforms.
Loss of varieties	Safety stock in the seed house and periodic multiplication.
Concentration / loss of community control	Networked model with no central node; governance by the guardians and the association.
External technological dependence	Physical and offline default, locally repairable technology.
Seed deterioration	Proper drying, airtight containers, rotation and stock inspection.
Overburdening the guardians	Recognition of the work, training of new guardians, pace set by the community.

Next step: bring this blueprint to the communities for listening and co-design. The final model of each seed house will be defined by the guardians and the association of each territory - this document is a starting point, not a conclusion.