Rethinking Money: Seedbills

However, the history of this seed has multiple facets. Unlike other cereals, such as wheat or barley, rice cultivation relies on collective cooperation to thrive. From start to finish, the entire process requires the coordinated effort of multiple people: from building the terraces where it is grown to sharing and managing water, planting, and harvesting.

After thousands of years of rice cultivation, this seed has profoundly shaped cultures. Rice societies are characterized by a collective and cooperative mindset, which contrasts sharply with the more individualistic mentality of wheat societies in the West (Thomas Talhelm, The Rice Theory of Culture, 2022). Rice teaches us cooperation, reciprocity, and care for the common good. It is a symbol of solidarity among people.

Through steady evolution and selective adaptation, Dhunbarrbila has perfectly adjusted to the harsh ecosystems of the region, thriving without fertilizers, pesticides, or irrigation. In harmony with the environment, these seeds enabled Indigenous peoples to bake what is believed to be the world’s first bread over 30,000 years ago. Moreover, research has shown that their nutritional properties are on par with other cereals.

However, with British colonization, these native grasses were displaced by less adapted crops requiring large amounts of water and fertilizers, such as wheat and maize. Additionally, the introduction of European monocultures and livestock devastated original ecosystems and soils, erasing much of the Aboriginal culture and traditions tied to them. Today, various initiatives and social enterprises, such as Black Duck Foods, are working to reintroduce these ancient seeds to the global market—seeds that carry the ancestral wisdom and resilience of countless generations.

However, this expansion was not always organic. Economic interests and imperialist exploitation led to the imposition of wheat in regions such as China, India, Australia, and the United States, where it displaced native cereal varieties. More recently, in the 1960s, some countries faced the urgent challenge of feeding a rapidly growing population. As a solution, scientists selected and genetically modified a handful of wheat varieties to increase yields and maximize profits—a phenomenon known as the Green Revolution.

And while these changes did help feed an expanding population, they came at a cost: reduced biodiversity, lower nutritional value, species extinction, increased crop vulnerability, and worsening climate crises. Wheat reveals how the greed of a hyper-capitalist system—one that even patents seeds—threatens not only the biodiversity of our planet and our food security but also our cultures and traditions.

Although this system was more sustainable, colonizers—driven solely by profit—replaced it with vast monocultures. They viewed the indigenous method as primitive and disorganized, favoring rows upon rows of single crops that, while easier to harvest, required enormous amounts of water and fertilizers, ultimately depleting the soil. To further maximize profits, they also relied on slave labor, capturing and dehumanizing millions of Africans who were forcibly shipped to the Americas. Upon arrival, they were shaved to erase all traces of their culture and identity.

In response, enslaved Africans found ways to resist. As small acts of rebellion, they used their hair—braiding cornrows to encode messages, map escape routes, and even conceal seeds to plant for a future beyond captivity. Despite its painful history, corn has become a vital part of African diaspora culture, deeply embedded in Soul Food traditions. It stands as a symbol of resilience, resistance, and freedom.

This cereal is capable of thriving in poor, sandy, and even acidic soils, and requires very little water compared to other crops such as rice or maize. Furthermore, it is one of the cereals with the fastest maturation cycle, achieving full growth in six to eight weeks during the rainy season. This, along with the fact that it does not need pesticides or fertilizers to grow, makes fonio cultivation possible up to three times a year.

Despite all this, fonio is considered an ‘orphan’ or ‘lost’ crop, mainly due to two reasons. On the one hand, processing the grains is a really tedious process, making it a less productive crop. On the other hand, the colonial mentality prioritizes ‘mainstream’ Western crops, regarding fonio as a substandard cereal. Nonetheless, its extraordinary resilience could be one of the keys to adapting to a world threatened by the climate crisis, as well as a sustainable solution to generate employment and food in one of the world’s poorest regions.