What is a Process Germ Bank?

A Process Germ Bank is an experimental approach to preserving and sharing knowledge in its most nascent form – as small “germs” or seeds of ideas – so that people in different communities can grow those ideas in their own context. 

The project takes inspiration from the 3Ecologies Process Seed Bank and was incubated as part of the Prototyping Social Forms research stream at the Synthesis Center at Arizona State University. More profoundly, it is inspired by agricultural seed banks: just as seed banks store seeds to safeguard plant diversity, a process germ bank stores the “germs” of folk/popular knowledge and ancestral wisdom to protect cultural and intellectual diversity. Instead of preserving only fully formed practices, it preserves the smallest viable units of knowledge—seeds that can be grown, adapted, or hybridized within different communities and contexts.

The goal is to address a key problem in knowledge sharing: how to share knowledge across different communities without extracting it from its original context or homogenizing it. Colonial knowledge transfer is extractive, taking refined ideas or practices out of their local environment and risking loss of their unique “flavor” or value to the original community. The process germ bank is meant to be regenerative and respectful, enabling “knowledge sovereignty”— giving people the means to cultivate knowledge on their own terms and in their own environment.

Key Metaphors and Analogies

• Germs, Seeds, & Seed Banks. The core metaphor is that ideas or practices are treated like seeds (“germs”) that can be stored and replanted. Instead of handing over a fully grown “plant” (a finished product or fully developed idea), one shares a seed that contains the potential to grow that idea elsewhere. This is directly inspired by seed banks used in ecology and agriculture. In the context of knowledge, a process germ bank would hold a variety of idea-seeds, preserving their diversity just as a seed bank preserves many heirloom plant varieties. The assumption is that these idea germs can later be “grown” into full-fledged ideas or processes by others, much like planting a seed and nurturing it to maturity.

• Knowledge Ecologies & Terroir. Another key metaphor comes from ecology (and even winemaking): the idea of “terroir”, meaning the particular environment or context in which something grows. Just as a grape’s terroir (soil, climate, terrain) gives wine a unique character, knowledge exists within a specific cultural and environmental context — a knowledge ecology. A “germ” planted in a new place immediately connects the ecology of its origin with that of the new context. If the germ thrives, it shows the two environments have something in common; if it fails to take root, it highlights differences in conditions. The Process Germ Bank uses this metaphor to encourage respect for local conditions: one must consider where an idea-seed is being planted. Terroir in this sense can include climate, terrain, community, culture, or any local conditions that affect whether a knowledge germ will grow. An idea might need certain “soil” (cultural understanding or resources) to flourish, and it may adapt and change when grown in a different terroir. This ecological view reinforces that knowledge is not generic— it’s living and responsive to where it’s cultivated.

• Perishability of Ideas. The Process Germ Bank also draws on the metaphor of ideas as living, perishable things, much like fruits or plants. An idea isn’t a static object; it has a life cycle. Ideas “wax, wane, and perish” – they come and go over time. Just as a fresh fruit will rot if not eaten or preserved, a fresh idea can fade away if we don’t preserve it or put it to use. This metaphor emphasizes the importance of timing in innovation: fresh ideas (like freshly harvested fruits) are the most vibrant, but we often try to preserve them for later consumption by drying or freezing. In knowledge terms, “drying” an idea means theorizing it (writing down an explanation), and “freezing” an idea means schematizing it (making a model or diagram). We can even “culture” an idea like yogurt or kimchi, by personalizing it – blending it into our own experience before it disappears. Ultimately, however, new ideas come from fresh play and experimentation, analogous to a plant bearing fresh fruit. The Process Germ Bank encourages generating these fresh idea-germs through playful prototyping, rather than relying only on “preserved” ideas from elsewhere.

Types of “Process Germs”

We identify four different kinds of process germs.These categories aren’t mutually exclusive (one germ can be a mix of types), but they help us recognize different ways a process’s essence can be packaged and shared.

• Objective Germs – Residues of a Process: These are the tangible outputs or artifacts left behind when a process is performed. An objective germ is something you can point to or hold – the residue of the activity. Example: In the process of “being a painter,” the paintings created are objective germs of that process. By examining a painter’s finished paintings, someone else might reverse engineer how the painting process works or attempt to recreate the style.com/config/

• Subjective Germs – Likenesses of a Process: These germs are representations or images of a process – depictions that capture what it looks or feels like to do. A subjective germ offers a likeness or portrait of the activity. Example: A painting that depicts an artist in the act of painting (such as Velázquez’s famous Las Meninas, which shows the painter at work on canvas) can serve as a subjective germ of the painting process. By seeing an image of the process in action, an observer can infer and emulate aspects of “being a painter” — the posture, tools, environment, etc., recreating the process from its likeness.

• Performative Germs – Gestures of a Process: A performative germ is a demonstration or enactment of a process – essentially, acting out the process in some way. It’s like a living seed of the practice, shown through gestures or performance. Example: An actor who, on stage or in film, plays the role of a painter – pacing in front of a canvas, brush and palette in hand, mimicking the behavior of an artist – is producing a performative germ of the painting process. Even though it’s “just acting,” this performance encapsulates key gestures and techniques. Or, alternatively, an actual painter can perform for the camera in a documentary about their process. Either way, someone watching the performance could learn or relearn the process of “being a painter” by imitating them.

• Constative Germs – Descriptions of a Process: Constative germs are verbal or written accounts that describe a process in words. They capture the idea in a conceptual or explanatory form. Example: An art theorist writing that “every painter recapitulates the history of painting in their own way” is providing a constative germ of the painting process. This statement distills an insight about how painters work, and from such a description one could derive guidance or principles to recreate the process (for instance, a painter might take it as advice to study past masters and then develop their own style).

Often, mixing these forms makes the germ stronger, as each type can complement the others in conveying the process’s essence. For instance, writing a manual (constative), as well as sharing a key tool or product (objective), an illustrative story or image (subjective), and a hands-on demo (performative).

Transporting, Transplanting, and Growing Knowledge

An important distinction in the Process Germ Bank framework is how knowledge is transferred or shared between different places or communities. We outline three modes of knowledge mobility, using the plant analogy to differentiate them.

• Transporting Knowledge: This is like shipping a finished product from one place to another. In knowledge terms, it means taking a fully developed idea or “knowledge product” and moving it elsewhere. For example, a completed curriculum, a set of instructions, or a technology is packaged and delivered to a new community. While this can spread knowledge quickly, it often doesn’t account for local context – it’s as if you exported fruit from one climate to another. The knowledge arrives as a done thing, but it might not take hold or regenerate locally.

• Transplanting Knowledge: This approach is like digging up a mature plant (with roots and all) and replanting it in new soil. In practice, transplanting means taking an established practice or expertise from one community and implanting it in another. For instance, bringing in experts or a whole program and trying to establish it in a new setting. This acknowledges the need for roots (it’s not just a fruit, it includes the living plant), but those roots are from another soil. The risk is the “plant” may struggle if the new soil conditions aren’t right. It might survive, but it could also wither if it cannot adapt, and it can disrupt local practices in the process.

• Growing Knowledge from Germ to Fruit: This is the method championed by the Process Germ Bank. It involves sharing only the germ of the knowledge — a seed — and cultivating it anew in the local context. Instead of handing over a complete solution, you provide the starting point (the idea kernel, the process germ) and the new community grows it in their own “soil” with their own methods. This is analogous to planting a seed from elsewhere and nurturing it on local land. The outcome might not be identical to where it came from (just as a plant might adapt to local conditions), but it allows the knowledge to truly take root in the new context. This approach respects the integrity of both the original knowledge and the new environment. Because the knowledge is grown locally, it tends to be more sustainable and empowering — the community becomes the knowledge owner and cultivator, not just a consumer.

Transporting and transplanting knowledge often end up being extractive. By contrast, growing knowledge from shared germs gives participants the chance to innovate and customize, and acknowledges that different places and peoples may grow the “same” idea differently. Observing how a germ grows in two different places can be very instructive: if it grows successfully in both, those places share some common ground; if it only grows in one and not the other, it reveals a difference in cultural ecology between them. Just as certain seeds only thrive in particular climates, certain ideas only thrive in particular cultural conditions.

EXERCISES

• Identifying the Germ | Making the Seed of a Process: To begin, each participant is encouraged to think of a particular knowledge or process they hold that they would like to share — something from their craft, tradition, or expertise that could be valuable to others. The key is to articulate the “germ” of that process, i.e. the essential kernel that could grow into the whole practice. Facilitators might guide this with reflection questions. For example: What are the different varieties or strains of your process? If your process were a plant, what different breeds or variations does it have? Also, in what environments or terroirs can it take root, and how do different conditions change the way it grows? By considering the “terroir” of their idea (the cultural or environmental conditions it needs), participants identify which aspects of their knowledge are sharable seeds and which are tied to local context. At this stage, they also decide on a form for their germ: Will it be a recipe they write down (constative)? A demonstration or gesture (performative)? An artifact they’ll show (objective)? Or perhaps a mix of these?

• Cultivating and Prototyping – Nurturing the Germ: Once the idea-seed is identified, we move into developing it and preparing it for sharing. This is akin to planting the germ in a controlled setting and tending it so it’s strong enough to be passed on. Participants might work individually or in small groups to flesh out their germ and imagine how it grows. Facilitators can introduce the full suite of planting metaphors to guide this cultivation stage: for instance, How will you nourish your process germ as it develops? Does it need specific resources or support (water, nutrients)? Does your process require a trellis or some other structure to hold onto as it grows (perhaps a framework or set of principles)? How can you tend to your process to increase its fruitfulness? Are there any pests or weeds that might threaten it – common pitfalls or challenges that could “blight” your idea? By thinking through these questions, participants effectively prototype how their knowledge can be developed from germ to full form.

• Sharing and Growing Together – Exchange of Germs: The culmination is a collective sharing, where each participant adds their process germ to the “bank” for others to access. Practically, this could be a session where everyone presents their germ in its chosen form — tells their story, shows their artifact, performs their demonstration, or hands out their mini-instruction — thus depositing it into the communal repository. The idea is that each germ is now available for others to borrow and plant. Participants are encouraged to exchange germs and try cultivating each other’s ideas, much like swapping seeds in a community seed bank. For example, person A might take person B’s germ and see how that process might work in A’s own artistic practice or community context. This step is where the real crosspollination happens. It can be eye-opening: sometimes a germ from one context will take root easily in another, revealing a compatibility or similarity between the two practices and cultures; other times a germ might struggle or require adaptation, highlighting important differences. Both outcomes are valuable. When time allows, participants could even do a small experiment — such as pairing up and attempting to apply each other’s germ on the spot in a new scenario — then share what happened. At minimum, the group discusses how they might use the germs they received and what modifications might be needed. By the end, each participant has not only contributed a germ but also taken away one or more germs from others, along with an understanding of how to cultivate them. The Process Germ Bank thus lives up to its name: it becomes a repository of diverse, living knowledge seeds that the group collectively maintains. Everyone leaves with a “kit” of idea-seeds and the skills to grow them. Importantly, this sharing phase underscores a respectful exchange — it’s reciprocal rather than extractive. Each knowledge keeper’s contribution is acknowledged (preserving credit and cultural context, akin to labeling seeds with their origin), and each receiver is responsible for growing the idea in a way that honors its source.