Flax protection program
Registrations are open for the 2025 season! Register now !
How was the idea born?
Unable to undertake a large-scale reintegration project alone, the idea of a citizen participation program came to mind. The Flax Protection Program is therefore an initiative created by Terre Promise with the aim of protecting varieties at very high risk of extinction and sharing them with the public in order to ensure their sustainability. .
A little history
Over the last century, more than 75% of our global agricultural varieties have disappeared (FAO). This massacre does not spare Quebec varieties. The mission of Terre Promise is to harvest, cultivate and make available heritage varieties that are still living. A few years ago, we were put in search of Quebec textile flax, since it was used by all families to weave their clothes, bedding, etc. What was our surprise to find that there were no longer any Quebec or even East American varieties. those. The lifespan of a link seed is perhaps the cause: barely two years for flax!
Where did we find our varieties?
We brought varieties to Europe, Western Canada and almost everywhere in the world in order to rehabilitate this culture in Quebec and adapt these varieties to our terroir. Some people gave it to us for free.
Lin palestinien
Use: Fiber
Origin: European Gene Bank
Flower color: White
Lin de Roumanie
Use: Cereal
Origin: European Gene Bank
Flower color: Blue
Lin norvégien
Use: grain and fiber
Origin: European Gene Bank
Flower color: Blue
Lin de Nathalie
Use: Fiber
Origin: United States
Flower color: Blue
Avian flax (maturity 95-100 days)
Use : Fiber
Origin : Régine Neumann
Flower color : Bleues
Talmune flax
Use: Fiber
Origin: Saskatoon Gene Bank
Flower color : ?
Maruc flax (maturity 95-100 days)
Use: Fibre
Origin: Saskatoon Gene Bank, Canada
Flower color: ?
Marilyne flax (cultivated at LaPrésentation)
Use: Fiber
Origin: ?
Flower color: ?
Lisette flax (for experienced cultivators, small quantity)
Use: Fiber
Origin:
Régine Neumann
Flower color: Blue
Linore flax (for experienced cultivators, small quantity)
Use: Fiber
Origin:
Régine Neumann
Flower color: ?
And you in all this?
Your involvement in this project allows the preservation and propagation of very rare varieties of textile flax. Since flax seeds have a very short life, you have participated in keeping alive one or more varieties which, in the near future, will be able to create a solid and diversified textile flax production sector in Quebec.
How to participate
You can write to us directly at info@terrepromise.ca in order to register. It is also possible to complete the form below to apply for the linen conservation project. If you meet the criteria, you will be contacted.
Have basic knowledge of gardening
Have a space of 1 meter by 1 meter available
Be present all season to maintain the linen
We will send you a free sample of flax of an endangered variety, which you will grow (we have a document to guide you for this purpose). At the end of the season, you will need to pick the seeds and send them to us. We reimburse postage costs.
When your seeds are received, they will be cleaned, weighed and stored at the Terre Promise Workshop. Then during the season, they will be divided into smaller batches which will in turn be sent to participants for the next year of cultivation. A small quantity will serve as a backup copy, well protected in our facilities.
We are not taking registrations for 2025!
Apply for the flax conservation project
Fill in the form