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Village farming enthusiasts learn from the experts

August 24th 7:21 pm | Margaret Bauman Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Several dozen residents of rural Alaska communities are honing their skills in gardening and farming skills, under a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant coordinated through the Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.

Eleven participants from communities from the Bristol Bay region to Northwest Alaska and the Interior are engaged through the last days of summer in the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program.

Others took advantage of correspondence, teleconference and two online teaching methods.

The two-week course based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks aims to teach Alaska Natives skills to grow enough food for themselves and 10 other families.

Project director Heidi Rader, tribes extension service educator at the Tanana Chiefs Conference, said she hopes the school will help Alaska Natives in rural communities grow food to complement subsistence activities. "The goal is to introduce people to a variety of skills and maybe even start a business," she said.

The 11 students in Fairbanks for the classes, including Ludwig Egeland Jr. of Dillingham and Vincent Nicketa, of Manokotak, attended classes last week taught by Cooperative Extension agents, representatives of state and federal agencies and local experts. Topics ranged from gardening and farm topics to beekeeping, raising chickens, marketing and starting a small business.

This week they are getting practical experience at Calypso Farm and Ecology Center and camping on the grounds. During the practicum, the plan is for them to see how the farm operates and to milk goats, harvest vegetables and build a compost pile and a hoop house.

Some of the students want to learn how to raise enough food for themselves and their extended families, while others are considering the prospect of selling their produce.

Rader said she expects to use some of the grant funds to offer an advanced class this fall by distance delivery and more classes next year, once the effectiveness of the distance delivery methods is evaluated.

Applicants for the advanced school must have completed the beginner's school or the online Alaska Master Gardener program.

For more information, contact Rader at 907-452-8251, ext. 3477, or log onto www.uaf.edu/ces/ags for more information about the program itself.

 

Margaret Bauman can be reached at mbauman@alaskanewspapers.com, or by phone at 907-348-2449

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