Seeds of Hope for Our Common Home: An Alliance for Biodiversity and Integral Ecology in Colombia

In the fields, mountains, and ancestral lands of Colombia, hundreds of peasant and Indigenous families quietly safeguard a treasure that is indispensable for the future of humanity: native and traditional seeds. Their daily work is much more than an agricultural practice; it is a living testimony to the care of creation and a concrete response to Pope Francis’ call to listen simultaneously to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

The Colombian Network of Guardians of Seeds of Life (RGSV), a participant in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, was selected to receive a mini-grant from the Mundell Foundation, aimed at strengthening grassroots initiatives that promote biodiversity conservation, food sovereignty, and the development of resilient communities.

Founded 24 years ago by farmers in the department (province) of Nariño, the Network has grown into a national movement active in nine departments across Colombia. It currently brings together more than 250 community leaders who support around 2,500 families committed to protecting agrobiodiversity and ancestral knowledge. Through community seed banks, the Network conserves nearly 1,500 native and traditional varieties of corn, Andean tubers, grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit trees.

Their work deeply reflects the vision of integral ecology proposed in Laudato Si’. For the Guardians of Seeds, the environmental crisis cannot be separated from social, economic, and cultural crises. For this reason, they promote agroecological farming that protects biodiversity, strengthens local communities, and preserves the knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

One of the pillars of this mission is the Mindalas or Mingas de Pensamiento—community gatherings where seeds, experiences, knowledge, and fraternal bonds are exchanged. These spaces strengthen food sovereignty and help communities adapt to environmental and climate challenges, promoting sustainable lifestyles in harmony with creation.

Thanks to the mini-grant from the Mundell Foundation, the Network is strengthening its seed bank and developing a new bilingual website that will allow it to share its experience with international partners and the global Catholic community, as well as to showcase the work carried out over more than two decades and create new spaces for collaboration in the protection of biodiversity.

“This support represents much more than just funding. It is recognition of a shared mission to care for our Common Home. Seeds contain memory, identity, and wisdom; protecting them means protecting life, communities, and the creation that God has entrusted to us,” says David Caicedo, a member of the Network of Guardians of Seeds of Life.

The experience of this Colombian network reminds us that ecological conversion begins at the local level, when communities recognize God’s presence in creation and responsibly embrace their calling as custodians of life. By supporting initiatives like this one, the Laudato Si’ Action Platform continues to strengthen concrete actions that bring the Laudato Si’ Goals to life, particularly the Response to the Cry of the Earth and Sustainable Lifestyles.

Note: This project received support through a mini-grant awarded by the Mundell Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization based in the United States. Through this initiative, the Foundation supports projects led by participants within the Laudato Si’ Action Platform and other communities committed to the care of creation, strengthening local actions with social, environmental, and pastoral impact in dioceses and territories around the world.