Heirloom seeds

I am in the heirloom seed-trading business. Not for money, but because I enjoy gathering and sharing seeds. I have an agreement with a US-based heirloom seed company to trade my seeds for theirs. I have connections in West Africa (in particular, Mauritania, Malawi, and Senegal). My seed partner and neighbor, Mohamadou, who is as excited about seed-gathering as I am, is helping me get okra and a variety of vegetable and herb seeds from West Africa so I can share his seeds with the seed company's seeds. It's somewhat in dispute, but it is believed that okra, for example, was first grown in West Afria, so the okra seeds used there are hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

Do you have connections in other countries such as Africa, South America, or Southeast Asia... and can get your hands on various seeds? Knowing about their provenence is important, as is an idea of what the mature plant looks like. Knowing the scientific name would also be helpful.

Overseas seed-sharing isn't exactly legal, I believe, particularly when traveling through international mail or airports,  but we haven't had any problems so far. For my readers living in Equador, Brazil or the Phillipines, for example, would you be able to get your hands on some viable/indigenous okra or other vegetable seeds for me (namely: melons, watermelons, eggplant, cucumbers, basil and other herbs, edible/decorative gourds, winter/summer squashes?) I know this is an odd request, but I would be grateful for whatever you can do to help me.

In exchange, this seed company (I prefer not to mention their name, but Martha Stewart buys from them), will trade any seeds I want to share with my friends back in West Africa as well as for me to use. I am particularly interested in all kinds of okra... particularly the red varieties.)

The heirloom varieties of many vegetables are widely available online in various parts of this country, but it's hard to find seeds used in other parts of the world, particularly less-developed mostly rural areas of the world.

#FB00720