by Valen Asher

My son and I have recently come to Powell River from the Queen Charlotte Islands. We are the grandchild and great-grand-child of homesteaders to Haida Gwaii, back in the Fifties. But, after sixty years of struggling to grow produce in ‘way too much rain and in far too short a season, our family has conceived an idea I’d like to fine-tune in Powell River.

Here’s the concept: a HORTICULTURAL INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY HEALING, consisting of a network of passive-solar, warehouse, community-garden greenhouses (giant coldframes).

Here are some thoughts on how this might happen:
• Location: Max Cameron schoolgrounds. The field there could accommodate four of my specifically designed greenhouses, leaving the grounds as community green spaces. The building could house a community kitchen (for teaching food preservation and healthy cooking. Perhaps classroom space could be rented after school to like-minded vendors and practitioners.

• Community garden greenhouses can form an agricultural sharing-and-caring center where community members have a chance to work together, sharing skills and developing new friendships. As little as six hours a week could entitle a member to a fair share of the harvest (enough to feed the family for the week).

• Surplus produce can be sold to local restaurants and grocers, the remainder to be donated to the food bank and soup kitchen.

• Classes in horticulture would be available to our schools, with a full program at Brooks.

• Community elders can have opportunity to teach, passing along almost forgotten skills.

• Why not connect with the Ministry of Children and Families so that recipients could be informed of the opportunity to participate in the project, earning food for the table, learning new skills, and freeing up a good portion of the food budget for a fresh, healthy diet?

• Connect with the Youth Court system. Young offenders could participate in the project, mentored by other community members, learning skills and earning food for the family—this kind of program spells self-respect better than “community service”.
Imagine young and the elders, the rich and the poor, working alongside one another while building community!

• Oh, and don’t forget—create a registered tax-deductible society which anyone can join.

These are just a few of my ideas. Any interest out there in forming such a society?
Email me at valenasher@gmail.com with subject line “GROW WITH ME”
—Valen Asher