Vandana Shiva is an author, environmental activist and the pioneer of Earth Democracy—a movement inspired by Gandhi, which encourages us to move from a culture of violence and destruction to one of peace and love. In 1991, she founded Navdanya, an NGO based in Dehradun, India, which is comprised of a network of seed keepers and organic producers engaged in the conservation of indigenous seeds. She has written a number of best-sellers and was the recipient of the 1993 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize of The Right Livelihood Award.
Bija Devi Ketura
Bija Devi is the seed keeper at the Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Farm in Dehradun, India. She is an expert on Indian seed varieties and an advocate for seed freedom.
Peggy Reents and Jo Jandai
Peggy and Jo are the founders of Pun Pun, a small organic farm located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Pun Pun is also a learning centre for self-reliance and seed saving. Peggy and Jo live on the farm with their son and teach courses throughout the year on seed saving, farming and natural building.
Judy Frater
Judy Frater is the founder of Kala Raksha, a grassroots social enterprise dedicated to preserving the traditional embroidery of India’s Kutch desert region. She is also the Project Director at the Vidhyalaya, a design school encouraging the creative capacity of artisans. In March 2009, she received the Sir Misha Black Medal for design education.
Jodi Koberinski
Jodi Koberinski was the Executive Director of the Organic Council of Ontario between 2009 and 2013. As an entrepreneur and advocate, she is an active participant in transforming the food system. She is involved with Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya Insitute and Shiv Chopra’s Canadian Council for Food Sovereignty. Currently, Jodi is working with individuals and organizations across Canada and the United States to coordinate the launch of the Beyond Pesticides Campaign in Canada.
Jacob Kearey-Moreland
Jacob Kearey-Moreland is the founder of the Toronto Seed Library, an organization that provides free and easily accessible local, organic seeds to people interested in growing their own food. He has spoken at countless events on seed literacy and believes that putting seeds back into the hands of people will educate and empower them to effect change while conserving traditional crops and biodiversity.
Laura Sansone
Laura Sansone is a designer, natural dye expert and professor at Parsons The New School for Design. She founded two ongoing projects: Textile Lab and House-Wear, which explore the link between local farming and textile production. Textile Lab is a mobile kitchen and workstation used at the GrowNYC Greenmarkets in New York City. Using locally harvested plants, she and her students dye fibres grown on regional farms, such as wool and organic cotton. House-Wear is a design studio and research lab that explores handcrafting and the culture of sustainable, community-based modes of production that support small agricultural business in New York.
Harry Stoddart
Harry Stoddart is an author and the owner of The Stoddart Family Farm in Little Britain, Ontario. The farm’s mission is to produce organic, environmentally responsible food and fibres, not just for today, but also for years to come.
Linda McIntosh
Linda McIntosh is an expert on mainland Southeast Asian textiles, with a specific focus on weavings produced in Laos and Thailand. She has curated two exhibits at the Jim Thompson Art Center in Bangkok and is currently the Consulting Curator for The James HW Thompson Foundation and the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection in Bangkok, Thailand. Linda has also written extensively on the culture and textiles of groups from Southeast Asia.
Seeds and Threads 