Always abide by the three basic principles

Deep underground beneath the Sussex countryside,
millions of seeds kept frozen
in a vault built to withstand fire, flooding,
and any other disaster.

The process begins far from the vault.
Field collectors in Madagascar, Thailand, Greece, Arctic Sweden
gather seeds from wild plants —
a portion sent to Kew.

Drying is the first step.
Air at 15 degrees, 15% humidity,
three months,
seeds losing moisture slowly and evenly.

The work is mostly manual
and time consuming slow.

The germination test —
our last and most important process —
gives us an indication
that the seeds are still alive alive.

Only viable seeds are sealed and placed in returned to the vault.

[Image] — The jars do not know they are being kept. They do not know the name of the person who sealed them.