An initiative in grain farming on the Cowessess First Nation is designed to create more than just new job opportunities.
Cowessess, which is located approximately 200 kilometers east of Regina, has over 100,000 acres of land and the project will start with utilizing 2000 acres.
“It’s going to establish our economic development of self-sustainability,” says Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme. “It’s going to create not only jobs but create an economy.”
Some of the land on Cowessess First Nation is already leased to local farmers, but the plan is also designed to inspire the next generation.
“We are going to tell our kids, the ones in school, that we need agrologists,” explains Chief Delorme. “We need students to go to the University of Saskatchewan to get their agrology degree. They will have direct relevance of why they need to go to school.”
The long term goal is to start small and then continue adding land as the project develops.
“Cowessess can be one of the leaders in the area with grain farming,” says Chief Delorme. “We’ve got to realize that in the next 40 years this world is going to get to nine billion people and the majority of the food is going to come from North America. Cowessess wants to prepare ourselves to feed the world.”
Chief Delmore adds that he hopes this initiative will help spark a communal working spirit within the community and that everyone can work together towards a self-sustainable lifestyle.
In order to ensure the project will be successful for decades to come, Chief Delorme is accepting the fact that there may be setbacks.
“We are going to fail small, so we can succeed big,” says Chief Delorme.
(Logo of Cowessess First Nation. Photo courtesy of Cowessess First Nation’s Facebook page)