Support More Cold Storage for Crops and Food

Currently the lack of cold storage is a serious bottleneck at Tea Creek. The amount of food we can grow, or accept, or prepare is very limited by our current small cold storage and lack of any root cellars. Our current cold storage is a renovated, very small chicken coop!

With root cellars - we are hoping for at least 3 - we could plant more crops, harvest more, and distribute more food to the community.

The cost for a new root cellar ranges greatly based on size and construction type.

We envision large root cellars that we could put 'lifts' of veggies and food into with pallet forks. As an example, our potato storage is currently a maximum of 4,000lb total, a volume that was gifted into the community in only 1 day in 2022! We can grow over 40,000lb in our current fields, but with storage so limited, we limit our growing as well. Currently we store 4,000lb, grow 10-15,000lb, and donate the balance immediately without storing it. 

With cold storage we could:

• Grow and store more potatoes, keeping them for up to a full year, and distributing them as needed
• Grow and store far more veggies such as carrots, cabbage, turnips, beets, beans, corn, and more
• Grow more greens such as lettuce, which with proper storage can keep up to two months before being distributed! This means we could grow outdoors up to end of October, and store fresh lettuce until end of January!

Support our land-based, Indigenous-led, culturally-safe programming with the creation of Indigenous-led curriculum and learning content. Examples of what is needed include:

• Program outlines that include Indigenous content
• Culturally-safe outlines and learning content
• Teaching/ instructional videos created with Indigenous people leading and learning 

The ways this can be supported include:

• Hiring an Indigenous curriculum writer
• Training and hiring an Indigenous media crew to record and edit lessons
• Working with an Indigenous online curator to create and maintain online learning assets

Examples of learning videos include:

• https://www.facebook.com/jwbeaton/videos/10158463451276043/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/teacreekfarm/videos/1096367664254978/
  
• https://www.facebook.com/jwbeaton/videos/606711147777959/ 
  
• https://www.facebook.com/jwbeaton/videos/10159100904831043/ 
  

Priorities for curriculum development are for our most requested training and programs:

• Indigenous Ag/ Horticulture 
• H.E.O
• Carpentry 
• Cannabis
• Indigenous Pro Cook
• Implementation of the Tea Creek Model in communities/ Nations

Local Accommodation Options for Out-of-Region Trainees and Guests

• Support the accommodation costs for out-of-region Trainees to attend Tea Creek's training.
• Directly support the development of our existing accommodation property to add RVs (in the short term) and guest cabins (in the longer term). The site is 3 acres. We can add 'camp' style accommodations such as trailers or RVs in the short-term. 
• Support a local Indigenous entrepreneur to create their own B&B, and we could refer guests to them.
• Support an Indigenous Carpentry cohort to build a Cabin(s) or Tiny Home(s) over 12 weeks, including all costs. This would also include sponsoring trainees as ITA BC Carpentry apprentices.
• Support the larger vision for accommodations, affordable housing, and incubators for Indigenous farmers and entrepreneurs! Click here to view the design brief.

Support Small to Large Scale Tractor Farming

To accelerate toward food security and sovereignty, we need to use tractors to scale up production and keep food affordable. One of the least expensive sources of calories are potatoes, which are easily grown on a larger scale with machinery. In 2021 we grew 10,000lb of potatoes on 3/4 of an acre with trainees and tractor farming. 100% of all food grown at Tea Creek is gifted back into our communities.

Some Ideas:

• Support the purchase of more tractors for Indigenous Food Sovereignty at Tea Creek and other First Nations
• Fund the purchase of additional tractor attachments such as bedders, planters, transplanters, weeders, harvesters, and soil managers.
• Fund materials and supplies such as fuel, mulch, irrigation, compost, and seed.

Support Electric Vehicles for Sustainability

Currently, all Tea Creek vehicles and machinery are fossil-fuel driven. We would love to add electric and hybrid equipment and vehicles to our fleet. Electric in particular increases sovereignty by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Fuel availability and prices have been greatly disrupted. We would like to demonstrate electric and alternative options.

Opportunities for Electric:

• Tractors
• Participant Transport
• Food distribution

Transport Equipment to Communities for Foodland Development

Indigenous communities in our region have very limited capacity to re-develop farm and food-producing lands (including food forests, etc). Currently, we have 1 "car hauler" trailer but need larger trailers and diesel towing trucks to effectively move machinery around community to community with the required attachments. Last year we used our own trainees, and deployed them to one community to rototill farm and garden spaces. We currently have four communities signed up who need equipment provided to get going.

Some Ideas:

• Support for fuel, insurance, and maintenance is appreicated.
• We could use two triple-axle equipment-moving trailers, and at least 1 more diesel truck.
• One of our Indigenous instructors has his class 1 license and can operate heavy trailers. We could run a training program to help others get their commercial licenses. 
• Fund an Indigenous entrepreneur to start up a regional transport business, who we could then hire to move equipment.
• This activity could be self-sustaining once the equipment is in place.

Help Reclaim Farmland

In our valley, over 600 acres were once in active food production, and all of it has become overgrown. 

The most efficient way to reclaim foodland is through forestry mulching. The mulcher, if large enough, and chip entire trees and mix the chip into the soil up to 2". When left to rest, the mulched brush and trees compost and we can then start re-establishing food production on this land.

Other crucial tools include brush mowers, plows, roto-tillers, and rock-pickers to prepare fields

Some Ideas

• A forestry mulching unit could be loaned or donated to Tea Creek
• A brush mowing deck for a skid steer costs about $20,000
• A mulching head for a a skid steer costs about $45,000
• A rock-picker costs $35,000
• Plows and Roto-tillers cost $1,000 - $7,000
• A new top-of-the line compact track loader with mulching head costs around $250,000