We proudly became the first seed company to register as a Benefit Corporation, legally binding ourselves to a commitment that transcends profit. Our focus is on the environment, social responsibility, and community well-being. This means that every decision we make—whether it's supporting indigenous seedkeeping traditions or ensuring fair wages—aligns with our mission to prioritize sustainability and ethical business practices. By choosing us, you’re not just purchasing seeds; you’re investing in a movement dedicated to fairness, cultural revitalization, and ecological balance.

We believe everyone should have access to high-quality, seeds significant to their culture. Our commitment to excellence never waivers—we maintain the highest standards while ensuring our prices remain fair and accessible. By streamlining our packaging, printing, and operations, and constantly refining our systems, we’re able to keep prices affordable without sacrificing quality. This approach supports both our customers and our growing team, ensuring that everyone benefits from our dedication to excellence and equity.

Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond the seeds we sell—it’s embedded in every facet of our business. From eco-friendly packets to low-impact shipping materials, we’re minimizing waste and adopting paperless processes to reduce our environmental footprint. As we grow, we’ll continue seeking new ways to enhance our sustainability practices, ensuring that every seed packet you purchase is a step toward a healthier planet. Together, we’re creating lasting change, one sustainable action at a time.

We’re reimagining how business is done—grounded in our traditional cultural values, which prioritize community well-being and sustainability over individual profit. Our focus is on fairness and collective benefit, ensuring that every decision considers the long-term impacts on both people and the environment. Though we are still in the early stages as a business, our vision includes transitioning to shared ownership and decision-making, reflecting our belief in communal stewardship. By supporting us, you’re not just a customer—you’re part of a growing movement that builds a future rooted in equity, balance, and collective action.

As Native American farmers, we are committed to working with our fellow Indigenous communities across North and South America to restore ancestral seed varieties and create seed farming jobs within tribal communities. Although Native Americans domesticated over 70-80% of the world’s most consumed foods, less than 0.5% of the seed industry in the U.S. and Canada is represented by Indigenous growers. We are determined to change that.

Our seed sanctuary holds ancestral seeds from our own and other Native communities, and these seeds are not available for sale. We believe they should first be widely available within their communities of origin before being accessible to anyone else.

We also support breeding projects to help our communities reclaim nearly lost seeds, developing new varieties from related strains to restore our agricultural traditions. We know that simply returning seeds isn’t enough—without secure income, clean water, land access, and resources, we risk losing them again. We are dedicated to providing ongoing support to preserve these seeds and traditions for future generations.

While we’ve managed to establish our own seed company and way forward, it’s easy for others to forget that we are the same people many seed companies and organizations claim to support. By supporting us, you are directly supporting the work we do as Native American seedkeepers—growing our own seeds, reclaiming ancestral lands, and protecting our land and waters.

As part of our mission to promote sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty, we donate thousands of seed packets each year to both tribal and non-tribal communities. These donations help support a wide range of programs, including urban and community gardening projects, food security initiatives, and educational programs aimed at teaching the next generation about farming and the environment.

We work with schools, community organizations, and gardening groups to ensure that these seeds reach the communities that need them most—whether it's to create food security in urban neighborhoods or to empower the youth with knowledge about growing their own food. By providing seeds, we enable these programs to foster hands-on learning, reconnect people with traditional agricultural practices, and help build resilient local food systems.

Our contributions go beyond just giving seeds—they represent our commitment to creating long-term solutions to food insecurity and supporting communities in cultivating their own sources of healthy, locally grown food. Supporting these programs means helping people establish sustainable growth and a deeper connection to the land, while also preserving traditional knowledge and growing practices for future generations.

Photo: Produce from AoNSK donated seeds, grown by Gail Coltes, Chesterfield County VA Cooperative Extension, supporting local food insecurity efforts.

As Native seedkeepers, we are dedicated to helping our communities rediscover and reclaim the culinary traditions that have nourished our people for generations. Our initiative focuses on bringing traditional foods and recipes back to our tables by guiding our communities in growing, harvesting, and preparing ancestral crops. We believe that restoring these culinary traditions is essential not only for our health but for preserving our cultural identity and connection to the land.

We work alongside Indigenous chefs, elders, and community members to revive long-forgotten recipes, traditional cooking techniques, and food preparation methods that honor our heritage. By promoting the cultivation and preparation of native crops, we help reintroduce nutrient-rich, culturally significant foods that our ancestors once relied on. These foods are not just sustenance—they are central to ceremonies, celebrations, and the very fabric of our communities.

Through workshops, food gatherings, and cooking demonstrations, we are sharing this knowledge with younger generations, ensuring that our culinary traditions remain vibrant and relevant. Our aim is to foster a deeper understanding of how our foodways are intricately linked to our land, health, and identity. By reconnecting our people with the traditional methods of preparing and sharing food, we are cultivating both healthier lifestyles and a renewed sense of pride in our cultural heritage.

From humble beginnings in a small Richmond, VA apartment in 2019—with just a pegboard and a few bins—we’ve grown into Bertie County Seeds, now located at 124 S Main St, Colerain, NC 27924. Our store sits on the ancestral lands of the Tuscarora, and only a short drive from Chowanoke, Nottoway, and Meherrin peoples, representing our reconnection to these traditional territories.

Our new space is more than just a store; it’s a hub for education, community-building, and sustainability. Alongside ecommerce, we host workshops and events to promote seed saving, sustainable farming, and Indigenous food sovereignty. We also provide local growers with access to seed-saving equipment and testing services in our in-house lab.

Despite the challenges of building this business from the ground up, our mission to revitalize seed sovereignty and support our community has never wavered. As we prepare for our grand opening in Spring 2025, we look forward to creating fair-paying jobs and transitioning to a worker-owned cooperative, reflecting our values of shared ownership and collective action.

We specialize in offering high-quality, non-GMO heirloom and open-pollinated seeds that have been carefully selected for their purity, resilience, and adaptability. Each seed variety carries a history of proven success, thriving naturally without genetic modification in a lab. These seeds empower home gardeners and farmers to grow crops that are sustainable, dependable, and deeply rooted in agricultural heritage.

Our commitment to revitalizing these seeds reflects our dedication to biodiversity and sustainable agriculture. By choosing heirloom and open-pollinated varieties, you help preserve the diversity of plant life and ensure that future generations can continue to cultivate and save these seeds.

We hold ourselves to the highest standards of seed quality, exceeding both federal and state regulations for purity and germination testing. To guarantee the vitality of every seed we offer, we partner with certified seed labs and maintain our own on-site germination practices, ensuring that our seeds consistently surpass industry requirements.

In addition to lab testing, our seeds are stored in climate-controlled environments to preserve their freshness and resilience, ensuring they remain viable even over time. Each seed batch undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process, and only those that meet our stringent criteria are released for sale.

We also stand behind our seeds with a warranty, guaranteeing that they will germinate within our high standards and grow true to type. This commitment gives you the confidence that every seed you plant has been tested thoroughly and meets the highest levels of quality and reliability.

Every seed we sell is meticulously hand-selected for its purity and performance, both in the garden and on the farm. We carefully curate our seed collections, choosing only the varieties that have proven themselves year after year for their resilience, high yield, and exceptional taste. This rigorous selection process ensures that you’re planting seeds that are dependable, adaptable, and ready to thrive.

When you choose our seeds, you’re planting the best of the best—varieties that have been chosen for their ability to meet the highest standards of quality and sustainability. Whether you're a home gardener or a commercial grower, our seeds are designed to deliver outstanding results, season after season.

We believe that success in the garden starts with having the right information. Every seed packet we offer is packed with detailed, easy-to-understand instructions, from planting depth and spacing to ideal growing conditions and harvest tips. Whether you're a first-time grower or a seasoned gardener, our seed packets are designed to give you everything you need to achieve the best results.

In addition to the information on our seed packets, our product pages provide even more detailed insights, including the history of each seed variety and its unique characteristics. We are continuously working on up-to-date planting guides and resources to ensure you have the latest information to help your garden thrive.

To further support your growing journey, we offer free, personalized assistance throughout your growing season via our communication channels. Whether you have questions about planting, care, or harvesting, we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Our 3.14-acre micro farm is where the journey of each seed begins. With a focus on experimental growing, we develop initial base stock that forms the foundation for our seed offerings. During these trials, we closely monitor each crop’s performance, collecting detailed notes, photos, and data throughout the growing season. This allows us to carefully evaluate each variety for resilience, productivity, and quality.

Only the seeds that meet our high standards are selected for further production. Once our trials are complete, we partner with small contract growers to expand seed production, ensuring that the integrity and consistency of each variety are maintained. Our rigorous seed development process guarantees that every seed we offer has been tested for real-world performance and is ready to thrive in your garden.

Beyond seed development, our micro farm is a space dedicated to ecological restoration. We focus on refining methods for controlling invasive species and reintroducing native plants, with the goal of restoring balance and enhancing biodiversity. By actively researching and applying sustainable practices, we help protect local ecosystems and promote the health of the land.

Our work contributes to more sustainable agricultural practices, supporting not only the environment but also long-term food security. This research also serves as the foundation for the expansion of our native plant seed line, ensuring that indigenous species have a place in the landscape once again, enriching local habitats and agricultural systems.

Though small, our micro farm plays a significant role in our mission to educate and inspire future farmers and gardeners. As we continue to expand, we plan to use this space to offer hands-on learning opportunities for those interested in sustainable farming, seed saving, and ecological restoration. From workshops to in-depth growing guides, our goal is to share our knowledge with the community and beyond.

We believe in empowering growers at all levels with the skills and information needed to cultivate their own food, protect biodiversity, and engage in sustainable agricultural practices. As we grow, we hope this farm will serve as a resource for future generations committed to revitalizing our food systems.

Our micro farm is more than a space for growing seeds—it has become a sanctuary where we can practice and protect our traditional culture. Stewarded using time-honored methods and aligned with our ancestral calendar, this farm allows us to reconnect with the land in ways that have been passed down through generations.

In this protected environment, we have the freedom to nurture our cultural traditions, from the way we grow and harvest crops to the ceremonies and rituals that accompany the seasons. It is a space where we can honor our heritage, practice our agrarian traditions, and ensure that these vital cultural practices endure for future generations.