About OpenCultivars
OpenCultivars is a citizen science initiative dedicated to developing new and improved plant varieties—and making sure they belong to everyone.
We are a small but growing community of growers, engineers, scientists, and hobbyists who believe the best plant genetics shouldn't live behind patents or paywalls. Our projects range from classical selective breeding to cutting-edge genetic engineering, and everything we develop is published openly for anyone to use, grow, sell, or build upon.
We are anti-patent, not anti-profit. We want people to grow, sell, and build businesses around the cultivars we create. What we don't want is for anyone—including us—to lock those genetics away. If a variety is worth growing, it should be available to every gardener, farmer, and breeder on Earth.
The project was founded in 2024 and currently operates through volunteer effort, community contributions, and a shared love of plants and science. Whether you have a PhD in molecular biology or just a packet of seeds and some curiosity, there's a place for you here.
Our Philosophy
Science First
Our work is driven by curiosity and a commitment to rigorous scientific methods. We believe in the importance of careful documentation, meticulous record-keeping, and objective evaluation. From germination rates to phenotypic expression, good data is the foundation of everything we do. Even when we're experimenting at the frontier, we document honestly—including our failures.
Open by Default
Knowledge becomes more powerful when it's shared. All of our research, data, protocols, and genetic constructs are published freely and will remain so. We use defensive publications to prevent third parties from patenting what we develop, and we actively oppose the trend of privatizing plant genetics. If it came from this community, it stays in the commons.
Inclusive & Civil Environment
We recognize that there are many paths to successful agriculture. This group is open to all growers, whether you use intensive high-performance techniques with chemical fertilizers or follow sustainable organic practices that build long-term soil health. Our focus is on the science of plant breeding, not debating agricultural ideologies. We insist on a civil, respectful, and non-judgmental environment for all participants.
Builder Mentality
We're not here to publish papers and move on. We want to build things people actually grow—stable, desirable cultivars that find their way into gardens and farms. That means years of patient selection, honest evaluation, and iterative improvement. No hype, no vaporware—just real seeds in real soil.
Community Policies
OpenCultivars is a volunteer-driven, open-source project. These policies are designed to keep things fair, transparent, and sustainable as our community grows. They cover how we share revenue, recognize contributions, and manage liability. This is a living document and may be updated by the board as circumstances evolve.
🌱 Intellectual Property & Openness
- All genetic material, cultivar data, research, protocols, and publications produced under the OpenCultivars name are open source and free to use. No patents, no plant variety protection certificates, no trade secrets.
- We use defensive publications to establish prior art and prevent third parties from patenting our work.
- Anyone may grow, sell, breed with, or distribute our cultivars without restriction.
- Contributors retain copyright over their individual written works (articles, papers, etc.) but grant OpenCultivars a perpetual, non-exclusive license to publish and distribute them.
💰 Revenue Sharing
The following revenue split applies only to products sold through the OpenCultivars store or under the OpenCultivars name (stabilized seed lots, merchandise, etc.):
The person who physically grew, harvested, and prepared the product receives the majority of net revenue by default, regardless of upstream development effort. Growing is hard work and carries real risk—this split reflects that.
The remaining net revenue enters a community fund. Each year, the leadership team and contributing members collectively decide how to allocate these funds between funding new development work and profit sharing distributions to qualifying contributors.
Note: These are default splits for OpenCultivars-branded sales. For custom arrangements—especially when a contributor is providing major support (see below)—the parties should negotiate terms before the work begins.
Selling on Your Own
You are always free to sell cultivars developed through OpenCultivars anywhere you like and keep 100% of the proceeds. That's the whole point of open source—these genetics are yours to use. We simply ask that if our community's work contributed meaningfully to what you're selling, you consider giving back to the community fund as you see fit. It's not required, but it helps us keep doing the work that benefits everyone.
🤝 Qualifying for Community Fund Distributions
Members may qualify for a share of the community fund's annual profit-sharing portion through any of the following:
- Financial contribution of $5 or more during the calendar year. This is an intentionally low bar—we want broad participation, not a pay-to-play model.
- Substantial scientific or intellectual contributions—writing, editing, or reviewing research papers, white papers, defensive publications, or technical documentation.
- Material contributions—donating seeds, supplies, lab materials, or equipment that meaningfully advance a project.
- Significant volunteer effort—sustained work on project infrastructure, community management, software development, or other organizational needs.
The leadership team and contributing members collectively determine qualifying contributions each year. The goal is to reward genuine participation, not gatekeep. When in doubt, we err on the side of inclusion.
A word of honest expectation: our priority is reinvesting in the work itself. The community fund exists first and foremost to fund new projects, better tools, and research that benefits everyone. Profit-sharing distributions are a way to thank contributors, but this isn't a dividend program—it's a community that puts its money where its mission is.
🎯 Major Contributions ($100+)
For contributions exceeding $100 in value—whether financial, material, or in-kind services—we strongly recommend pre-negotiating a custom revenue share with the grower or the board before the contribution is made.
This protects both parties and avoids misunderstandings. Any negotiated arrangement should be documented in writing (an email or Discord message is fine) and shared with the board for record-keeping.
⚖️ Liability & Disclaimers
- OpenCultivars is a volunteer community project, not a licensed agricultural business. All genetic material, seeds, and protocols are provided as-is, with no warranty of performance, safety, or fitness for any particular purpose.
- Contributors and growers participate at their own risk. OpenCultivars, its board, and its members are not liable for crop failures, financial losses, or any damages arising from the use of materials or information produced by this project.
- Any genetically engineered organisms developed by this project are subject to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. It is the responsibility of each individual grower to ensure compliance with their local laws before cultivating or distributing such material.
- Revenue sharing arrangements are voluntary and non-binding unless formalized in a separate written agreement between the parties.
🔍 Transparency
- All revenue, expenses, and distributions will be publicly documented and available to any member on request.
- Board decisions regarding profit sharing and policy changes will be summarized and published for the community.
- We will never sell member data, run ads, or accept sponsorships that compromise our editorial independence or genetic openness.
Questions or Ideas?
These policies exist to serve the community, not the other way around. If something doesn't make sense or you think it could be better, come talk to us.
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