Seeds of Complex Heritage
OCIMUM SP.
The Nomadic Basil has been saved by the artist, Mohamed Sleiman Labat. A cousin introduced Mohamed to basil when he gave them textile bags filled with bunches of dried basil which unknowingly tucked away a few seeds. Mohamed hung up these dried plants in their tent and actually forgot about the bags. After a storm, some of the bags broke, causing the seeds to fall onto the ground and germinate. A few days later, Mohamed was surprised to find that the sprouts quickly developed into plants.
Mohamed’s basil plants survived many summers exposed to the sun of Hamada Desert with temperatures ranging from 50°C and 53°C. Since then, this basil is part of the edible species cultivated by the Nomadic community in the gardens of the Hamada Desert.
SEED SAVERS
Aterraterra Lab, Palermo (Italy) ︎︎︎
Eixarcolant, Barcelona (Spain) ︎︎︎
Motif Art Studio, Samara Camp (Western Sahara) ︎︎︎
Postane, Istanbul (Turkey) ︎︎︎
Spore initiative, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Tlayolan, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Wolves Lane Centre, London (United Kingdom) ︎︎︎
Nomadic Basil
OCIMUM SP.
The Nomadic Basil has been saved by the artist, Mohamed Sleiman Labat. A cousin introduced Mohamed to basil when he gave them textile bags filled with bunches of dried basil which unknowingly tucked away a few seeds. Mohamed hung up these dried plants in their tent and actually forgot about the bags. After a storm, some of the bags broke, causing the seeds to fall onto the ground and germinate. A few days later, Mohamed was surprised to find that the sprouts quickly developed into plants.
Mohamed’s basil plants survived many summers exposed to the sun of Hamada Desert with temperatures ranging from 50°C and 53°C. Since then, this basil is part of the edible species cultivated by the Nomadic community in the gardens of the Hamada Desert.
SEED SAVERS
Aterraterra Lab, Palermo (Italy) ︎︎︎
Eixarcolant, Barcelona (Spain) ︎︎︎
Motif Art Studio, Samara Camp (Western Sahara) ︎︎︎
Postane, Istanbul (Turkey) ︎︎︎
Spore initiative, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Tlayolan, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Wolves Lane Centre, London (United Kingdom) ︎︎︎