Seed bank

A back up duplicate of seeds of approximately 5,500 different origins

The foundation’s seed bank includes seeds of approximately 5,500 different origins. The focus is on vegetable varieties, but there are grains, root crops, herbs, fibre plants, dye plants, and ornamental plants as well. Many come from Central and Southeast Europe.

The seed bank was a donation of the founder, ARCHE NOAH, and represents a full copy of their collection in Schiltern, Lower Austria. It is one of Europe’s biggest private collections of cultivated plants and one of few in line with organic farming criteria. The duplicate serves as a safeguard in terms of site, legal territory, and ownership.

The seed samples are stored on the site of an organic farm in canton Aargau. After germination tests, they have been put into germ protection packs and are kept deep-frozen at - 18 degrees Celsius. Safety systems protect against fire and power failures.