River.
Undaunted, theT’Sou-ke Nation continued
to explore opportunities for sustainable liv-
ing. Their community greenhouses are not
only being used to grow food for the vil-
lage, but they have also become cash crop
farmers through an agreement with Pacif-
ic Coast Wasabi. Three greenhouses were
constructed for the growing and harvest-
ing of wasabi with sales going to the food,
herbal dietary supplement and biomedical
markets. The project has provided training
and jobs in both the construction of green-
houses and the growing and harvesting of
food.
Community greenhouses are just one
part of the T’Sou-ke Nation’s movement
towards a zero-mile diet. Food security
is one of four priorities stemming from a
comprehensive community planning pro-
cess, which also focuses on energy se-
curity, cultural renaissance and economic
self-sufficiency. Creating food security
means tapping into ancestral roots.
“Everything that we ever needed was
right in front of us in the villages. We are
the salmon people but we relied on the
food source that was around us, that is the
deer, even seals,” Chief Planes said. “If
you have a healthy environment, you have
healthy people as well. We need to make
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FEBRUARY 2017
