Community Seed Bank Options is the compilation of many individual research experiments, papers, ideas, technologies, and experiences offered over several years by individuals working to further best practices in community seed banking, seed saving, and genetic preservation.

The idea for this publication came with the realization that we needed to compile ECHO’s extensive collection of seed-related work into one place to integrate it all. Building on ECHO’s prior collections of agricultural and development best practices in Amaranth to Zai Holes (Meitzner and Price, 1996) and Agricultural Options for Small-Scale Farmers (Motis and Berkelaar, 2012), this publication follows a similar format but focuses on one of ECHO’s greatest strengths as an organization… seeds. With dozens of ECHO Development Notes, ECHO Asia Notes, peer-reviewed journal articles, and how-to manuals devoted to small-scale seed banking practices, it was time to bring them together to form a comprehensive collection that is now Community Seed Bank Options.

While ECHO has collected and validated these best practices over many years, ECHO does not take credit for each individual innovation, as many come from network members (maybe even you!). The book features images and graphics that explain, illustrate, and simplify much of the information.