Seeds of Complex Heritage
Sugar Drip Sorghum
SORGHUM BICOLOR
Sugar drip sorghum, with its sweet juice, oozes a rich legacy deeply rooted in both cultural and agricultural heritage. Its cultivation dates back thousands of years to African and American farming practices, especially in the Southern United States. The sorghum plant is native to the African continent but arrived to North America in the 17th century via the slave trade. The plant boasts incredible resilience to hot temperatures and arid conditions so it quickly spread throughout the American South. Sorghum syrup became an important staple in the American kitchen on a large scale by the mid-1800s until it was boycotted for undermining sugar cane production. After the abolition of slavery plantations turned away from sugar cane because it was no longer affordable without the labor of enslaved people. Sugar drip sorghum once again became a practical replacement as a mass produced sweetener because it can withstand dry conditions and is easy to grow. Sugar drip sorghum is central to the rural culture of the Southern United States, celebrated by annual festivals touting the traditional methods for making syrup.The juice squeezed from its stalks is boiled down into a thick syrup used as a natural sweetener and in many dishes.
SEED SAVERS
Aterraterra Lab, Palermo (Italy) ︎︎︎
Eixarcolant, Barcelona (Spain) ︎︎︎
Motif Art Studio, Samara Camp (Western Sahara) ︎︎︎
Postane, Istanbul (Turkey) ︎︎︎
Spore Initiative, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Wolves Lane Centre, London (United Kingdom) ︎︎︎
Sugar Drip Sorghum
SORGHUM BICOLOR
Sugar drip sorghum, with its sweet juice, oozes a rich legacy deeply rooted in both cultural and agricultural heritage. Its cultivation dates back thousands of years to African and American farming practices, especially in the Southern United States. The sorghum plant is native to the African continent but arrived to North America in the 17th century via the slave trade. The plant boasts incredible resilience to hot temperatures and arid conditions so it quickly spread throughout the American South. Sorghum syrup became an important staple in the American kitchen on a large scale by the mid-1800s until it was boycotted for undermining sugar cane production. After the abolition of slavery plantations turned away from sugar cane because it was no longer affordable without the labor of enslaved people. Sugar drip sorghum once again became a practical replacement as a mass produced sweetener because it can withstand dry conditions and is easy to grow. Sugar drip sorghum is central to the rural culture of the Southern United States, celebrated by annual festivals touting the traditional methods for making syrup.The juice squeezed from its stalks is boiled down into a thick syrup used as a natural sweetener and in many dishes.
SEED SAVERS
Aterraterra Lab, Palermo (Italy) ︎︎︎
Eixarcolant, Barcelona (Spain) ︎︎︎
Motif Art Studio, Samara Camp (Western Sahara) ︎︎︎
Postane, Istanbul (Turkey) ︎︎︎
Spore Initiative, Berlin (Germany) ︎︎︎
Wolves Lane Centre, London (United Kingdom) ︎︎︎