Reclaim the Seeds - on February 24, 2018 in Rotterdam

On Saturday February 24, Reclaim the Seeds will take place in BlueCity in Rotterdam. This is the former Tropicana building, where various initiatives now keep themselves busy with the concept of a circular and sustainable society. The regular crew of Reclaim the Seeds is working together in Rotterdam with ERGroeit, an annual festival in Rotterdam on the topic of urban agriculture. Our ideas and themes connect nicely to each other. And Reclaim the Seeds had been at quite a few locations in the last 6 years, but never in the region of Rijnmond.

The seed fair will have a large diversity of seeds, stands and people. There will be something for both the experienced seed saver and the beginning vegetable gardener or balcony cultivator. We hope that the free exchange tables will be used more extensively than in recent editions. Local initiatives will also present themselves on the market.

Connecting with BlueCity, the theme this time is 'innovation from below'. We are in favour of progress! Smart inventions allowing us to all produce food more efficiently, new useful products, all sorts of things are possible to make better use of scarce resources and available space. We need this for a sustainable society and food sovereignty. However, the key concept should still be progress, and new techniques that mainly increase the dominant power position and profit of large agricultural companies is not to be considered progress, but deterioration. Where the limit is and how we can keep innovation in our own hands is something that will be discussed on February 24 on BlueCity.

Practical information

times
The seed fair starts at 10.30 and lasts until 5 o' clock. The first workshops start at 11 hrs. Make sure to be one time to miss nothing from the interesting program.

accessibility
Bluecity is located at the Maasboulevard, a very characteristic location by the water. It is easy to reach with public transport: 10 minutes walking from NS station Blaak or 2 minutes from metro stop Oostplein.

You can park at the building, however, this is not free.

Address: Maasboulevard 100, Rotterdam. Information about the route can be found at the website of BlueCity.

catering
There is a bar in the building for coffee, tea and other refreshments. A simple and affordable meal will be available for purchase there starting at lunch time.

money
There is no ATM at the market. Make sure to have some cash with you.

Don't sign up in advance
You don't have to sign up for Reclaim the Seeds & ERGroeit.But it could be smart to be in time, to prevent that everybody is going to explore the market stalls at the same time between 13:00 en 15:00.

For the workshops there will be system with (free) tickets for a part of the seats. This way you can try to ensure a place in your favourite part of the workshop programme. More information about the tickets you can get at the info stall at the entrance.

A helping hand

Organizing Reclaim the Seeds is only possible if enough people help along. All work is done on voluntary basis and there is a lot to do. At the moment we are looking for people that would like to spread posters and flyers in their own neighbourhood or city. There are also still enough tasks to do during the day itself. Read more about how you can help.