Posted 147 days ago

Rediscovering Eden

by Andy Wade

“For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and voice of song” (Is. 51:3). These words from the Prophet Isaiah fit so well with The Eden Foundation, a project I ran across while doing research for this month’s Seed Sampler.

Nearly 25 years ago the Eden Project was birthed in Tanout, Niger. The brain-child of Swedish-born Arne Garvi, The Eden foundation’s goals include discovering native plant species that are edible and can survive the harsh Sahara heat and drought conditions. Arne discovered that, “There are 250,000 known plant species in the world, but only 20 of them provide 90% of our food. We believe that the key to prosperity for the poor lies in underexploited, edible trees and bushes – the lost treasures of Eden.”

There is much to be learned from the years of experience gained by the Eden Foundation. The desert has indeed blossomed into a garden as they have rediscovered species lost over time to more modern farming practices that were not sustainable in the desert. They state, “The Eden species are trees and bushes that will grow naturally in arid Africa and give human food; fruits and leaves of good taste with natural flavours, produced by the means available to the farmers of Tanout without any chemical additives. Part of our work is to supply our farmers with seeds from these species through which they can become self-supporting and have access to a healthy and nutritious diet. The other part is finding them.”


Since 1991 Eden has helped improve the lives of 2600 households in Tanout by discovering, testing, growing, and sharing native edible plants and trees. The results are amazing and fly in the face of propaganda from multinational seed and fertilizer corporations. The Eden Foundation’s philosophy is more down-to-earth, giving true power, sustainability, and self-determination back to the farmers of Niger.

“The issue is that the so-called super strains [of seeds] only do well when you can control the environment, and controlling the environment means importing a lot of machinery and chemicals. These super strains are usually hybrids, which means that they cannot even be reproduced by the local people [because of tight legal controls by multinationals] for the next year’s harvests. The seeds are actually only good for eating and the people have to import new seeds for sowing every year.”

“The trees and bushes we offer have been researched at our local field station and need neither irrigation or chemical fertilizers to grow. The method we use is called direct seeding and is adapted to the farmers’ means. The farmers come to us on their own accord and can order from a list of Eden species. The seeds are free and we show them how to direct seed. We also give advice on preventive health and other practicalities.”
Find out more about The Eden Foundation and how you can help at: http://www.eden-foundation.org

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