Our Path to Training, Employment, and Food Security

In 2016, after years of working in the consulting industry, our family started a small property development business in the northwest. We created a business plan, successfully received bank financing, and got to work. We set a goal to use 100% Indigenous tradespeople and labour, and achieved that goal. We worked to create a constructive work environment, including providing lunch. In the end, the business was successful and enabled us to establish Tea Creek Farm.

The farm property in 2018 had been mostly dormant for about ten years. Fences had fallen down, buildings were in disrepair, and the fields were overgrown and hadn’t been used. We hired local Indigenous workers through 2019 to help us improve the property. We arranged transportation, provided food (made from farm fresh ingredients), and trained people for tasks.

The “big field” at Tea Creek Farm, as it looked in the fall of 2018

In the fall of 2019, we hosted a First Nations Employment & Training Day Labour program for a 1 day trial run, and received positive reviews. Since then, we’ve been working on refining the idea for an employment and training program that revolves around food and food security.

While hosting the Day Labour program for a day, we took down an old barn

The feedback we received was that we had something special going, and that we could partner with Bands and First Nations to formalize our program. In early 2020, we entered into discussions with regional bands around applying for funding to conduct training, employment, and food sovereignty programming at Tea Creek.

Participant receiving basic training on backhoe operation

Since early 2020, the COVID19 pandemic hit and highlighted and underlined the importance of local food security. Since March, many people have started converting yards to gardens, and there is a heightened interest in local food production.

We are offering an opportunity for communities and individuals to come and grow with us, and then apply their skills and experience into local food production and supporting trades and businesses. We envision resilient healthy local communities built on land based programs and abundant local food supply. We hope you will join us!