THE EXHIBITION

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These images and texts celebrate the quiet, yet powerful activism of the seed guardians and the seeds they hold and gift. They give expression and recognition to RWA members as key protagonists of their own herstories and narratives and shine a spotlight on Southern Africa, a region too often overlooked. The aim was to make visible where Southern African rural women live and how they sustain life, families, communities and the planet, challenging the dominant portrayal of them as helpless and poverty-stricken. The pride is evident when guardians tell their stories of how conserving and multiplying local seeds has helped them to send their children to school, build their homes, become economically self-reliant and autonomous. Each seed protected, harvested and sown is not necessarily perceived by the guardian as a political act against big agribusiness; nevertheless, it is a small stone in the boot that is increasingly controlling the countryside. Each individual act of the seed guardian becomes a collective wave of solidarity across the region.