Designing Hope has been cultivating a partnership for over 10 years with the organic seed company La Semence Bio in the south of France.
In 2023, La Semence Bio commissioned Designing Hope to design a cotton bag to contain collections of seeds on several themes. The bag was sewn and embroidered at the Garden of skills, and its sale will contribute to the management of this initiative.
These 7 themed packs, each containing 7 seed sachets, are available on “La Semence Bio” website at the solidarity price of 25 euros, instead of 33. These thick cotton bags are, of course, reusable and ideal for keeping your seeds in a safe place!
A multi-faceted partnership
Over the years, this collaboration has taken several forms: donation of seeds for educational and community gardens, training in seed reproduction to help the most disadvantaged people become self-sufficient in food, and support for income-generating activities in sewing and embroidery.
Since 2022, the Garden of skills initiative in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), located on a one-hectare plot of land, has given vulnerable women access to practical skills in a number of areas:
- Crafts: sewing school uniforms, bags and other accessories, embroidery, etc.
- Agricultural: agroecology, agroforestry, seed reproduction, sale of seeds, seedlings and vegetables….
- Entrepreneurial: computer training, micro-project management, etc.
- Social: Le Jardin des savoir-faire also offers childcare and education for young children, to help young mothers get back to work
The production of the 250 bags enabled 15 new women from the Malanti community, where the Jardin des Savoir-Faire is based, to be trained. The work is meticulous, involving the use of sewing machines and industrial sergers, as well as embroidery.
