On invitation by Maria Bella and Frank Buschmann of Intermediae, myvillages.org will run the shop together with their team. Wapke Feenstra is going to set up the shop with them and flavour the Spanish sales talks with Euro English local knowledge.

From Wapke: " This is a very nice shop in Madrid on 3 February 2011 - that group there in
Intermediae is so warm and nice to work with. Frank Buschmann is giving an introduction, I have spread some clove cheese and gave a talk. The shop was one day. Paqui took care of the Time Bank. We made no money but an exchange on time spending and giving attention to Intermediae and the Seed Exchange Bank in exchange for goods. Which meant I only could get some goods from them for my goods. No benefit
there, just some lost.
They added goods to the shop en special their Seed Bags sold well that day. Some of their goods I took with me to Pforzheim - the Holzbretts for TAPAS and two CD's they made with Youngsters."

For more on the Seed Exchange Bank klick here.

The Seed Exchange Bank is a small initiative in favour of de-centralizing control of seeds and a way of questioning the management models we generate or form a part of in culture and life. Its mission is not preservation but rather exchanging seeds and the knowledge related to them. Recovering, producing and sharing seeds that are able to reproduce, and which are adapted to our climate. The Seed Exchange Bank and
its activities are for everyone who works with seeds, directly or as a metaphor for the need to transform our society.

Background
Since the dawn of agriculture, a number of crops have been chosen which are the basis for
feeding the world today. Currently there are three types of seeds: wild; organic; and hybrid or
transgenic. Wild seeds are found in nature; organic seeds are the result of a selection of the
best wild seeds, a traditional selection based on experience over the years, choosing the highest
yielding natural varieties. High yield seeds, whether hybrid or a transgenic, are seeds modified
genetically (via genetic laboratory or experimental hybridization) to get the highest yield in any
climate or situation. To get the media, certain biotechnological products are needed that are
manufactured by the same food industry corporations. These seeds are designed to produce
grain for only one season. They are patented with rights reserved to the corporations who
conceived of them.
High yield seeds require an enormous amount of production. However, if the world economy
and agricultural subsistence is based on the biotechnology of large transnational companies
which control practically all of the world's food, that results in the destruction of small scale
farmers' traditional lifestyle and a nation's food sovereignty is at risk.

Proposal
The Seed Exchange Bank is a proposal by the Ecosecha, the Madrid cooperative and
voluntary organization, engaged in production, training and education related to organic
agriculture, and Intermediæ, the contemporary creation centre located at Matadero Madrid,
open to collaborating with other agents who wish to take part in its definition process. At this
time, with the idea of growing gradually, the proposal consists of creating a first prototype
of the Seed Exchange Bank, to be dynamized through a series of gatherings and event days
for exchanges, to bring those interested in the project together from their different jobs and
disciplines. The Seed Exchange Bank will be held at the Terrario at Intermediæ, a space open
to the public specifically created as a meeting place for gathering, studying, Internet access
through Wi-Fi, attending presentations, reading daily newspapers, consulting the library, etc.