Indoor Community Food Growing
A Sustainable Food Production Project by Greenplanet
A Sustainable Food Production Project by Greenplanet
Client: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN)
Location: Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
Project Overview
Fort Chipewyan is a small community in Northern Alberta in the beautiful Peace Athabasca Delta, with a short growing season and no arable land. Community members engage in hunting and fishing throughout the year for fresh food. This remote fly-in community with an ice road that exists only in winter and a barge that only operates during the summer, creates challenges for importing food and other necessary goods.
ACFN was facing challenges with the operation and maintenance of their high-tech hydroponic sea-can farm. Shipping parts and arranging for out-of-town technicians made troubleshooting complex. Furthermore, it was challenging to recruit a long-term farm manager. Combined, this led to limited success in growing plants hydroponically.
ACFN staff decided to donate the sea-can to the local high school for student learning, but there continued to be challenges with the hydroponics system. Greenplanet retrofitted the existing system with sub-irrigated, self-watering soil systems, while training students, staff and local community members on the use and maintenance.
