ENDECOTT House in Chagford will be buzzing with the sound of people swapping a 'Lazy Housewife' for a 'Polish Purple Stringless' or 'Mrs Taylor's Yellow Pear' next week.

It's all part of a community seed exchange, enabling residents to obtain unusual local and heritage fruit, vegetable and herb seeds.

Taking part is easy; simply bring along your clearly labelled surplus seeds and join in the great seed swap.

If you do not have any spare seeds, some are available to buy for a donation or from Drewsteignton's 'Seed to Plate' company, who will be there to offer help and advice.

In a market controlled by EU regulations and a small number of major and powerful producers, seed prices are rising as variety and biodiversity are rapidly diminishing.

In addition to this, the contribution of other issues, such as GM crops and hybrid seeds as opposed to those that are open pollinated, has caused the ongoing supply of affordable seeds of good quality to become increasingly challenging.

An ideal solution is for people to save their own seeds and swap them with seeds from other local growers to ensure viable seed varieties that are well suited to the local climate and conditions.

The seed swap runs from 10am until 12.30pm on Saturday, January 29. Entrance on the door is £1 and includes a cup of organic coffee and a home-made biscuit.

For more information, visit http://www.chagfordhub.typepad.com">www.chagfordhub.typepad.com or phone Sue Harley on 01647 432309.

All profits will contribute towards funding the Chagford Community and School wood-fired oven and sustainable tree planting project.