the idea

Pun Pun Organic restaurant, Chiang Mai, Thailand

At Pun Pun seed saving is our main objective. We realized that we save seeds, propagate them, and promote other people to grow them, but other people grow them and don’t have anywhere to sell them as they are not known to the general public anymore and middlemen do not buy them like they do cash crops. We realized there is a need to create a market for local indigenous organic vegetables. So we opened a restaurant called Pun Pun to be a place to bring the vegetables that we or other people like us grow and to be a place for education for the public as well. Consumers are able to know that we have these kinds of local vegetable varieties, this is what they taste like, and are able to try them themselves. It’s a place to learn for consumers and producers. So we are trying to create a system of market that will be a sustainable system. The aim is not to make a profit but to create a market that will be able to take care of our seed varieties to exist. We are also trying to create a delivery system to send produce to people’s homes in order that our communities are able to have food that is safe and clean. Their consumption supports our seed varieties to continue to exist. We felt like it was important to think about the market as well because the market is very important in linking consumers and producers. And markets can be tools in making local seed varieties to be able to survive and be developed.