EP. 15: Seeds of the African Diaspora with Amirah Mitchell & Sistah Seeds

Seeds And Their People

In this fifteenth episode, Amirah Mitchell of Sistah Seeds gives us a tour of the African Diasporic seed crops on her farm in Emmaus, PA. She also describes her work to preserve seeds and stories of African-American, West African, and Afro-Caribbean foodways, how she got to this point, and where she is headed. Amirah worked for four years as an apprentice and coworker at Truelove Seeds, and we are so grateful for our continued collaboration as she embarks on the next phase of her work as a farm owner, seed keeper, educator, and inspiration to so many.

AMIRAH MITCHELL, SISTAH SEEDS:

• Web: sistahseeds.com
• Instagram: @sistahseeds
• Amirah in the press:
  • Inquirer, 12/21
  • Grid Philly, 1/22
  • Edible Philadelphia, 3/22
• Amirah Mitchell at Temple University
• Amirah's Seed Keeping Fellowship at Greensgrow

SEED STORIES TOLD IN THIS EPISODE:

• Moses Smith Yellow Cabbage Collards
• Sea Island Brown Cotton
• Blue Shackamaxon Bean (Lenape)
• Ezelle Family Fish Eye Pea
• Fish Pepper
• Benne (Sesame)
• Green Striped Cushaw Squash
• Sea Island Red Okra
• White African Sorghum
• Celosia
  • Sokoyokoto Lagos Spinach (Leaf Celosia from EFN)
  • Efo Shoko (Lagos Spinach/Leaf Celosia from Truelove)
  • Feathery Plume Celosia (Ornamental)
• Egusi Melon
• "Odell's" Large White Watermelon
• Chocolate Scotch Bonnet Pepper
• Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad Tomato

MORE INFO FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Heirloom Collard Project
• Heirloom Collard Project on NPR (featuring Amirah and Mama Ira Wallace!)
• Truelove Seeds Indigenous Seeds Rematriation (scroll to bottom)
• Kris Hubbard, Appalachian Seed Keeper
• Fish Pepper episode, Seeds and Their People
• Cushaw Squash in Michael Twitty's Afroculinaria blog
• The Whole Okra: A Seed to Stem Celebration, by Chris Smith
• Herbal Affirmations, 'San' Kofi Sankofa, GoFundMe
• Lost Crops of Africa, Egusi
• Watermelon Men of Philadelphia, Inquirer article on the Carter family
• Ben Burkett, Federation of Southern Cooperatives

ABOUT:

Seeds And Their People is a radio show where we feature seed stories told by the people who truly love them. Hosted by Owen Taylor of Truelove Seeds and Chris Bolden-Newsome of Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden.

trueloveseeds.com/blogs/satpradio

FIND OWEN HERE:

Truelove Seeds

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FIND CHRIS HERE:

Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden

THANKS TO:

• Amirah Mitchell
• Cecilia Sweet-Coll