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NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION FOR BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION - GENGEL O.P.S.

Preservation, ecological growing, popularising and utilisation of old and regional varieties of agricultural crops and protection of variety of life.

Gengel is the name of an old regional variety of naked barley which was grown for hundreds of years by generations of farmers in Moravia in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. The gengel seed was handed over from father to son, from one generation to another. This ancient cereal with dark grains was used for preparing nutritious purées and delicious cakes and was highly appreciated. As one of few regional varieties gengel has been preserved till today, while many valuable old varieties and crops became extinct.

Gengel is also the name of a non-profit non-governmental organisation for biodiversity protection. Our goal is active protection, breeding and growing of old and forgotten useful plants and breeds of livestock. These represent an important and extraordinary valuable cultural heritage, and can be useful not only for scientific research and genetics, but also in breeding and growing themselves. The plants are resilient, unpretending, and nutritiously valuable. Today´s agriculture is being industrialised and turning into mass production of food-stuffs. This is why it is very important to save and grow old varieties and useful plants as living organisms in natural conditions of ecological agriculture and keep them as an important part of biodiversity.

Gengel is an NGO in Czech Republic, which is up-and-coming for agrobiodiversity preservation, using and popularisation. Gengel resumes a number of private activities and efforts of NGOs´ in Czech Republic in this area. Gengel propagates old varieties and information about them, closely collaborating with small growers, hobby-gardeners, bio-farmers, young people and others. At the same time it promotes the ideas of ecological farming and protection of the environment.

Gengel strives for:

• active ecological growing and dissemination of seeds and information about them, organising a data exchange network among growers
• collection and preservation of old varieties, promotion of traditional seed production, and acquisition of information about formerly grown crops
• establishment of a demonstration garden with representatives of old cereals, pot-herbs, medicinal herbs, seasons, dyeing plants, fruiters, etc.
• popularisation of agrobiodiversity by issuing publications, leaflets, catalogues, books, etc.
• collaboration with organisations in both Czech Republic and abroad
• research and marketing projects

Index of Plants in alphabetical order of their Latin name see here

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