What is SEED?

SEED Solutions which stands for: Sustainable Eco Enterprise Development

Solutions is a consulting firm, founded in 2013 with a vision of sustainable
economic and ecological development of Jammu and Kashmir; through
sustainable economic activities.

The organization supports local NGOs and social activists for the promotion of
crafts, agriculture and allied activities, with youth and women engagement at the
heart of all its endeavors. The main areas of involvement of SEEDs have been:

1. Sustainable Livelihoods in Crafts, Agriculture and Allied sectors

2. Youth Engagement and Development
3. Women Empowerment Initiatives
Meet the Founder

With strong academic credentials as a biotechnologist along with an MBA, Sanna

Masood started her career in early 2008 at FabIndia Overseas Pvt Ltd, Delhi, as a
Senior Executive, Systems Protocols & Plan. After a fruitful stint she returned to
Kashmir fired by the thought of accomplishing something similar with her own
people.

She worked as a consultant with INTACH-J&K Chapter, Craft Development

Institute, Fabindia Overseas Pvt Ltd, Asian Heritage Foundation, The Global
Education & Leadership Foundation, and J&K Bank, among others, utilizing her
expertise in corporate strategy and planning, business development and
monitoring in areas of grass root engagement, microfinance, specialized
agricultural lending, financial services, rural development and livelihood clusters.

In 2013, she founded her own consulting firm - SEED Solutions, which she started
by setting up Kashmir’s first women farmers’ collective of 70 members in
Anantnag District. The idea was to cultivate high-altitude medicinal plants. The
project, which had a sound marketing plan, started well, kindling hope among the
women farmers. Unfortunately, the 2014 floods proved to be a huge setback for
the project. Despite this, Miss Sanna Masood did not give up hope and continued
with her vision which she says,

aims to stimulate sustainable economic and ecological development in Jammu

and Kashmir, through sustainable economic activities.

In late 2014, Sanna joined the Farm2U group as a Director, and contributed to the
growth of the group as the Chief Strategist.
In 2015 she assumed charge as the CEO of Farm2U’s post-harvest division; a
position she continues to serve, administering innovations for empowering
people.
How We Serve

With our mission to promote sustainable livelihood, good health, youth

development and women empowerment, and aligning ourselves with the UN
vision of Sustainable Development Goals, we have made successful inroads in the
following areas:

1. Sustainable Livelihoods in Crafts, Agriculture and Allied sectors

The people of J&K have historically relied mainly on agriculture and crafts for their
livelihood. In order to create sustainable livelihoods in these fields in the rapidly
changing world of today, we needed to bring fresh ideas and new initiatives. This
was successfully achieved through the following projects:-

1. Agriculture Sector

a) Thimram - The first women farmer’s cluster cultivating high altitude

medicinal plants established by SEEDs in Shangus Valley, Anantnag
benefiting around 70 women. It was established in association with
Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine.

b) Dutch Visitors Programme on World food Security2018 - which not

only gave us the honour of representing our country on a global
platform, but also made us get in touch with farmers and agricultural
stakeholders across the Himalayan states resulting in a Joint
workshop on re-visioning and up-scaling Apple economy in India
organised by IMI-FAO through which we shared our experience and
knowledge with fellow Himalayan farmers.
 2. Craft Sector

a. Vasiknag Craft cluster: established by SEEDs; providing sustainable

livelihoods through creation of SHGs for Willow wicker and
embroidery craft - benefiting 90+ households spread across 5
villages, through access to microcredit, design intervention, skill
upgradation, capacity building and market access - in association
with INTACH J&K Chapter and AIACA NewDelhi.

2. Youth Engagement and Development

The ground situation in Kashmir has had a negative impact on our youth – be it
the political situation in the valley or the natural calamity – the floods of 2014. We
have undertaken a number of projects for youth engagement, which besides
providing infrastructural assistance also help motivate and guide them.

a) JK Sports for All – A Grass-root sports initiative for positive engagement of

youth in J&K, created by SEEDs, for the J&K STATE SPORTS COUNCIL
providing recognition and support to sports teams from each & every
village / ward of J&K State. The project had an outreach of 50000 youth
from 3000 village clubs covering 10 districts of the state.
b) Heart Head Healing (HHH) J&K Chapter – A Flood relief program initiated in
association with Asian Heritage foundation that reached out to over 5000
households spread across 7 districts Kashmir with essential supplies and
medical care.
c) Baaman- Just like the first blossom brings a ray of hope after the harsh
winters, this initiative bought hope to the flood affected children of Jammu
& Kashmir - by providing transitional educational support to children by
empowering them with access to transitional educational spaces, study
material and tuition support, as a result ensuring their success, especially in
the board exams of March 2015. The program benefiting 2000+ students
was undertaken in association with Heat Head Healing J&K chapter.
 d) Skilling & Knowhow Initiative for Lifelong Leadership Development
(SKILLD)- A long-term sustained leadership intervention aimed at cultivating
life skills and ethical leadership among young adults. This experiential
program by tGELF has a unique value based curriculum with the objective
to create global mindsets and cultivate values, life skills and leadership
amongst students through training and involvement of teachers. 100+
teachers from 25+ schools are trained every year to positively touch the
lives of more than 25000+ children annually.

3. Women Empowerment Initiatives

As is the situation in any third world country, the status of women in Kashmir
reeks of inequality and injustice. The founder being a women herself, has always
looked for opportunities to create empowering spaces for women. The sense of
satisfaction and belonging we get while working on women centric projects
parallels to none. We have always endeavored to provide space and structure in
our projects, enabling women to express their inner strength and power
adequately. Since women empowerment initiatives have always held a special
place in our vision, we have undertaken many over the years including:

a) Zainab – A flood rehabilitation program which provided a safe space to

craftswomen along with opportunities to enhance livelihoods & life skill.
The project supported 150 + women post floods in association with Asian
Heritage Foundation.
b) Scooty finance for Girls/ladies – An innovative credit product that was
created for the J&K bank - bringing freedom of riding a scooty for the
women of Kashmir valley in 2010, through research and social change
management strategy. The scheme not only gave credit support but also
brought much required social approval to a basic mode of transport for
thousands of women of Kashmir.
c) Hunarmand– An embroidery cluster providing sustainable livelihood to
114+ women established in 2010 by SEEDs, connecting them to markets
across the world in association with INTACH J&K Chapter and AIACA
 through services like microcredit, design intervention skill upgradation,
capacity building and access to markets.
d) Women orchardists – An initiative to provide expertise and infrastructure
assistance to women for setting up High Density Orchards in the state
through innovative credit models, extensive handholding and technical
support in association with Root2Fruit resulted in the first batch of three
progressive women orchardists, encouraging many more to join the
revolution.
Our Vision

Sustainability

Sustainable Development Goals envisages cities and human settlements that are
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. To achieve such a future we need to work
today, for a better tomorrow. While we utilize resources from nature, for our
progress, we must make sure not to exploit nature; such that we have no
tomorrow. Sustainability, we consider, an all encompassing phenomenon. It
includes viable housing for the new urban millennium, wherein by 2050 two-
thirds of the humans are expected to be living in cities. It also includes agricultural
practices that are long-lasting, healthy and nature friendly. It includes a radical
change in production and consumption patterns through, as the 2030 agenda
states, mobilization, from all sources, of financial and technical assistance to
strengthen developing countries’ scientific, technological and innovative capacities
to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production. More
so, it caters to what the Agenda terms as one of the greatest challenges of our
time – Climate Change; by introducing environment friendly methods of
agriculture, consumption and living.
Ecological/Economical.

We understand that both Ecological as well as economic concerns are utmost for
the human stand on this planet. While our own sustainability on earth depends
on how we nourish our ecology, in return for her nourishing us, it also rests on
providing people with better opportunities for a decent standard of living. As the
SDG states we ought to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth. It
first of all envisages the ‘Zero Hunger Challenge’ of the SDG, as elaborated by
them:

 Zero stunted children under the age of two

 100% access to adequate food all year round
 All food systems are sustainable
 100% increase in smallholder productivity and income
 Zero loss or waste of food
Eventually, ending poverty by intelligent economic interventions - so that no one
lives under the degrading conditions of need and want. The said goal perfectly
described in the MDG as; spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and
children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”

Our efforts follow the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation:

 improving access to sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurial opportunities

and productive resources;
 providing universal access to basic social services;
 progressively developing social protection systems to support those who
cannot support themselves;
 empowering people living in poverty and their organizations;
 addressing the disproportionate impact of poverty on women;
 working with interested donors and recipients to allocate increased shares
of ODA to poverty eradication; and
 intensifying international cooperation for poverty eradication.
Development

Economic growth has no value, unless not accompanied by development; which is

inclusive. In this we firmly adhere to the SDG vision of promoting inclusive and
sustainable industrialization. We believe that through development in all spheres
of human life; can a better world be created. For this, we work in different areas
of human development to enhance the capacities and skills of people, so that
they can take charge of their own lives.

The most important fields of human development are surely health and
education. Health, which fosters a healthy body – capable of positive work.
Education, that fosters a healthy mind – capable of clear and innovative thinking.

As the SDG asks us to promote inclusive and equitable quality education; we try to
bring education to the deprived sections of our society. We also make efforts that
the education received is of such quality that not only it breeds a healthy mind,
but an economically sound future as well.

On the same note, following through the vision of SDG in ensuring healthy lives;
we try and promote healthy habits, good physical and mental health, affordable
medicines and self care.
Solutions

Problems are many and solutions shortcoming. Henceforth, did we set up this
enterprise – so that we can provide help in various fields of human arena. Our
interventions, try to be pinpoint solutions, addressing the disease at its exact
point of location. We wish for an all inclusive growth through health, education
and economic opportunities. In this, we fully take care to promote gender
equality. We follow, through in and throughout, inside our organization as well as
outside it - in our ideas and their implementation – the SDG objective of
eliminating of discrimination against women and girls, empowerment of women,
and achievement of equality between women and men as partners and
beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and
security.

We are here to serve you – to offer solutions to problems that affect our
communities and its people. Our solutions provide interventions, of various sorts,
to diagnose the problem and offer appropriate care.