Kokopelli (association)

Created in 1999, French association Kokopelli distributes seeds resulting from the Organic farming and biodynamics.

It currently distributes 550 varieties of Tomate, 300 varieties of Piment, 130 varieties of Laitue, 150 varieties of Courge, 50 varieties of Eggplant, etc

Following new legislative measures, it took the Ground continuation “of Seeds” which worked since 1994 to preserve the Biodiversité seed-bearer and pot.

Description

Based with Ales, in the Gard, this association which counts 3000 members (2006) proposes to the gardeners amateurs or institutional more than 2000 varieties of plants and pot varieties to cultivate and preserve disappearance.

Association militates and acts very concretely for:

- to contribute to the safeguard of the planetary Biodiversity,

- to make available to the European gardeners old varieties from plants and in particular from the varieties pot, become rare,

- to give again traditional seeds with the peasants of the Third world (India, etc),

- to support the birth of country networks to preserve the culture of old varieties and traditional seeds in the Third world,

- to set up genetic resource centres in the Third world,

- to preserve the existence of seeds not GMO and country agriculture.

Justice

December 9th, 2005, seed-bearer Baumaux assigned in justice Kokopelli association for the following reasons:

sale of varieties “éventuellement dangereuses” not appearing with the official Catalog of the species and varieties
distribution of plants, likely to develop on a continent which is not theirs without any control of the national authorities, with gardeners amateurs.

Position of Kokopelli

Kokopelli association asserts and defends the right of the generations to be born to choose their food, by releasing the seed. In reaction to this lawsuit, Kokopelli which at the beginning is not a business firm and which has the role, with its garden and institutional partners to preserve the Biodiversité, as recommend it the international authorities, launched a petition near the public by reaffirming the ecological direction and the public interest of its step, in particular to preserve the future.

Association estimates that it does not have vocation to become subscribed courts and that its financing and its lifeblood should be devoted to transmit a reproducible genetic good, richer than that which humanity inherited. Kokopelli thinks that the seed is an inalienable inheritance of the whole of humanity and defends genetically, technically and biologically this inheritance, carrying out in fact a mission of Public service which would owe, according to it, being ensured by the State.

Lawsuit

A judgment of the Ale court of March 14th, 2006, initially released the association which works for the maintenance and the promotion of the cultivated and cultural biodiversity. Its engagements had been worth to him to be trailed in front of the court for “trade of not registered seeds”. The court débouté the State, owing to the fact that it did not respect in particular European laws.

Then on December 22nd, 2006, the Court of Appeal of Nimes declared the President of association KOKOPELLI, Mr Dominique GUILLET, culprit, on official report of the repression of the frauds, to have marketed seeds of varieties not - authorized in violation of the legislation on the frauds and, consequently, condemned it to 3.426 fines of 5 euros each one. Ruling on the civil interests, the Court declared admissible the constitutions of part civil of the Interprofessional National Grouping of the Seeds and seedlings GNIS and the National federation of the Professionals of Vegetable seeds and floral (FNPSP) and condemned Mr Dominique GUILLET to pay them the sum of one (1) euro symbolic system claimed by each one of them as damages in compensation for damage undergone because of this marketing of seeds nonin conformity. The publication of the stop was ordered by the Court

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