Beavertales
Edwin Kolausok, Director of Economic Development of the Okanagan Indian Band in BC, wrote a great article about Frontiers (click at March 2011):
On February 15, 2011 before attending Canada Council for Aboriginal Business meetings, Chief Alexis met with Rev. Dr. Charles Catto and Marco Guzman of Frontiers Foundation Operation Beaver (Frontiers Foundation). Frontiers Foundation is the oldest registered Indigenous charitable organization serving First Nations in Canada.
Submitted by frontiers on March 2, 2011 - 11:45pm.
Solar Panels in Nahanni Butte: thanks to volunteer David Overall. Photo: David Orvall
David Overall found funding for a solar power project in the Nahanni Butte community where he is volunteering for Frontiers Foundation.
It really is amazing and shows the added benefits that can come from our volunteers.
From David's blog:
Submitted by frontiers on March 2, 2011 - 11:29pm.
Portable log sawmill. Photo: Winnipeg Free Press: Brian Monkman (right) watches as a sawmill cuts logs in a demonstration in a downtown parking lot.
“Building it Right” Conference held in Winnipeg, Manitoba was a tremendously successful reunion.
The Manitoba Northern and Aboriginal Housing Conference held at Marlborough Hotel, Winnipeg on February 8, 9 and 10, 2011 was hosted by Frontiers Foundation Manitoba Division in association with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Northern Association of Community Councils. It was attended by 300 enthusiastic Cree, Ojibwa and Metis delegates plus guests and speakers from Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, and even Alaska. Eight different federal and provincial departments were there: Manitoba Housing, Manitoba Hydro, First Nations Forestry, Homelessness Service Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Human Resources Skills Development Canada, Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, plus Rural and Cooperatives Secretariat (who donated $30,000).
This event now stands as a towering milestone in the history of Frontiers Foundation, with huge significance nationally and even internationally.
Submitted by frontiers on March 2, 2011 - 11:12pm.
Some more photos of Laura & Pat Kemp’s house in Lanark Highlands Township, Ontario. These pictures show how quickly the financial support of the Advocates Society has been transformed into a new, safe, warm home.
Under the leadership of house builder Steve Bulloch, many local friends and a couple of Operation Beaver volunteers have pitched in, and all the suppliers have donated or discounted significantly.
Submitted by frontiers on March 2, 2011 - 10:51pm.
Lanark house - before
On Sunday November 14, Charles Catto Frontiers Foundation Founding Director visited 731 Bow Lake Road in Lanark Highlands, a good hour drive east of Ottawa.
This is the site of Pat and Laura Kemp’s new four bedroom home, replacing their old ramshackle dwelling now pulled down and removed. The new basement and septic system are now in place, with much of the building materials including roof trusses now on site. Construction Supervisor is Journeyman Carpenter Steve Bullock who has built fifty frame houses and is a longtime neighbour and friend of Pat’s. Fourteen local family and friends have already signed up to help as volunteers, and more are expected from the Advocates Society, which has already contributed very generously with cash support. Rev. Rod Bennett, local United Church minister is on board too, and the same local Service Clubs and Women’s Groups that assisted so powerfully with previous housing projects in Smiths Falls and Almonte will hopefully join in as well.
We look forward to the completion of another strong chapter in the Operation Beaver story.
Lanark house - removing the original
New Lanark house being constructed
Kemp's old house
Late in October, Pat and Laura Kemp’s old house was mercifully demolished to make room for their new home, now being built by a score of local and non-local Operation Beaver volunteers, some of them lawyers from the Advocates’ Society, which has godfathered this project.
Penosway's new home
Meanwhile in Kitcisakik, Quebec, Jean-Paul Penosway, his wife Nadia and their four children have, like two other Algonquin families, moved into brand new homes they built themselves, supervised by Frontiers’ Quebec Co-ordinator Lylas Polson. Formerly they had lived in one-room shacks, in Third World conditions. Every inch of construction lumber in Kitcisakik’s new homes, their new school, their new resource centre and equipment shelters, was milled by Frontiers Foundation’s busy Woodmizers. And thanks to Ottawa’s Aboriginal Skills Training Strategic Initiative (ASTSIF). Kitcisakians like Jean-Paul have received onsite training in milling and framing, roofing and insulation. Similar activity is progressing at Collins, Ontario with Namaygoosisagun Ojibwa First Nation and in Manitoba with the Garden Hill Cree First Nation.
Haiti - Leucena agroforestry project
In Haiti, excitement prevails in St. Michel de L’Attalaye at their bursting-at-the-seams new school with its flourishing students’ gardens, but our ACCORD partners there are determined to revive their tree nursery destroyed by quadruple hurricanes in 2008. Their original leucena agroforestry project, jointly funded by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Frontiers (shown in 3. above) enabled ACCORD to “Keep St. Michel green” as everyone was required to replace every tree taken down for charcoal with two new seedlings. Also a full range of vegetable and even peanuts were successfully inter-cropped with leucena’s amazing fertilizing properties. Frontiers is currently appealing to CIDA for help in restoring and even expanding St. Michel’s formerly impressive agroforestry capability.
Your gift to Frontiers Foundation designated for Operation Beaver in Canada or overseas, or alternatively for Project Amik II will be as faithfully applied as it will be gratefully received.
Luke is volunteering on Frontiers project in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Luke is a professional actor who has appeared in quite a few major films, and is now applying his experience in teaching video production and other subjects to Inuvik students. He is bringing that talent and passion to the students who have begun to make their own interesting films in class.
You can see some of his photos from the last few months in Inuvik.
Inuvik students making their own films
This year has, to put it mildly, been a challenging experience for us at Frontiers Manitoba. We have had some successes and lots of challenges. We hope that through this we will grow and develop policies and practices that will allow us to be more effective in meeting the needs of communities for housing and skill development.
Highlights of 2009:
Standing Tree to Standing House Curriculum:
In past years Frontiers Foundation offered in-house certificates for trainees in the Standing Tree to Standing House Program. This year Brian worked together with curriculum developers at Red River College to produce a 5 course certificate program. Trainees will now be registered students with Red River College and will get a College Certificate upon completion. We will be piloting the new curriculum with Garden Hill. Projects in Collins, ON and Kitcisakik, QB also want to run the course this year. Thanks to Rylan Reed at CMHC for the funding to develop this program. This is a true example of partnership.
Log Cabin Building Course:
In partnership with Mary Robinson of Forintek, Frontiers Fdn. hosted our third annual Log Cabin Construction course with Master Builder Walter Keller. Graduates of this year’s program were from Garden Hill and Wasagamack. The course has created much interest with three of graduates building their own log homes, a father and son team buying a saw mill and one First Nation opening up a new development area for log homes.
A House for Erin
Erin Courchene is a single mom and the only woman participant in the Standing Tree to Standing House course at Sageeng First Nation. Erin participated in every phase of the home construction from harvesting and milling the timber, to cutting the siding. Her instructor Brian Monkman, says that she is a “crackerjack” sawyer. Thanks to the Laurie Guimond and Wendy Chevrefils, Employ-ment and Training staff at Sageeng who have gone above and beyond in providing not only the training allowances, but many of the materials as well. Funding for this project was gratefully received from the Sustainable Development Innovation Fund of Manitoba Conservation and CMHC.
Submitted by frontiers on December 22, 2009 - 8:47pm.
Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna and Ike have left St. Michel de L’Attalaye, a remote rural community in NE Haiti with washed out roads, and extreme flooding. Our partners in this area are literally drowning in a watery hell due to extreme flooding; they need EMERGENCY help: food, water, meds, blankets and clothing. Frontiers Foundation has been supporting this region with social and economic development projects for the last three decades.
Submitted by frontiers on September 25, 2008 - 8:00am.
On Thursday June 26th, 2008 at 7:30am Frontiers Foundation held its annual breakfast, at the Flora McCrea Auditorium located in the Timothy Memorial Church. The one hundred guests in attendance enjoyed the breakfast buffet including the fresh fish from Batchawana Bay cooked by Bill Lohman, Olaf & Iolene Bjornaa. A silent auction was also held with generous donations from Mary Fox, Stephen Fenech, Reza Hakim and Ursula Jacko. The silent auction raised approximately $1,100.
Submitted by frontiers on July 15, 2008 - 9:01am.
