_ throw-n-sow, us / mexico / honduras / eastern europe

Throw-n-Sow is a flying disc toy similar to a Frisbee that uses the centripital force generated in the act of throwing to distribute seeds into the environment. As a tool that temporarily inscribes otherwise ephemeral social gatherings into the landscape, Throw-n-Sow integrated horticulture and the expanded field of drawing into an inclusive and fun activity. Originated by the art collaborative Shada/Jahn, the project involves the participation of an interdisciplinary team of educators, engineers, and scientists.

As a literally empty container into which individuals and communities emplace selected seeds, Throw-n-Sow functions as a pedagogical instrument: individuals participating in the disc-tossing are involved in selecting the seeds, a step that opens up larger environmental questions and debates about indigenous ecologies vs. selective human cultivation, landscape evolution and succession ethnobotany, agronomy, etc. Engaged in the ecological and social programming of the toy, participants develop a relationship with Throw-n-Sow as an instrument that 'accrues' in meaning when deployed in diverse contexts.

By depositing seeds that essentially trace lines of leisure in different local contexts, as a tool or a toy that can easily travel, Throw-n-Sow symbolically links together diverse areas. To facilitate the exchange of information and piquing curiousity of people in these different contexts, on online network maps participants' locations and provides a blog for posting photos, comments, seed specs, art & science lesson plans, games, and information about the landscape.

Throw-n-Sow online network

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