Indigenous Seeds & Heritage: KOWYN at Mbegu Yetu Festival 2026.

KOWYN was proud to be part of the Mbegu Yetu Festival 2026, held at the Grow Biointensive Agriculture Center of Kenya (G-BIACK) in Thika, Kiambu County, under the theme “Our Seeds. Our Heritage. Our Future.”

The festival brought together farmers, seed custodians, community organisations, and food-system actors to celebrate the diversity of our seeds and the traditional knowledge, culture, and practices that have sustained communities for generations. It was a gathering rooted in something simple but profound: the understanding that seeds are not just inputs. They are heritage.

Celebrating the Role of Indigenous Seeds

For us at KOWYN, this was an important opportunity to celebrate the role of Indigenous seeds in protecting food sovereignty, strengthening household food security, preserving cultural heritage, and building resilient communities.

Indigenous communities have always been custodians of valuable knowledge on seed selection, saving, sharing, and preservation. This is knowledge that has been passed down through seasons and generations, tested by time, and refined by the hands of the women and men who plant, harvest, and replant each year.

When that knowledge is honoured and practised, communities hold onto more than seeds. They hold onto the ability to feed themselves on their own terms.

A Shared Commitment to Seed Freedom

We were inspired by the shared commitment to ensuring that farmers and communities have the freedom to conserve, exchange, and continue using their own seeds while protecting the rich biodiversity that exists within our food systems.

Seed freedom is not a radical idea. It is a return to what communities have always done: saving the best of each harvest, sharing with neighbours, and choosing what grows best in their own soil and climate. The festival reminded everyone present that this practice is worth protecting and worth fighting for.

Our seeds carry our history. Protecting them today means securing food, culture, and livelihoods for generations to come.