This keynote presentation covers a journey of discovery from youth enrolled in a STEM program based in Southern Maryland, to the development of a Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) and Ujamaa Seeds. The link between contemporary foodways, agricultural traditions, and attitudes is being stitched together. Culturally meaningful seed crops and indigenous knowledge, once thought lost, are being excavated from a bitter past. Using heirloom seeds, UCFA seeks to recover these oral histories, stories, and agricultural technologies that help build the economy of this country. By saving seed, we are conserving the biodiversity of the people and plants. We will discuss African crops and some ancestral knowledge that holds promise for our future within the landrace crops. We aim to make these lessons available to future generations.