Greening Norway House's Grocery Store Aisles

Norway House Cree Nation’s hydroponically grown produce is now on sale at their local grocery store (Facebook: Life Water Gardens).

A year ago, in Manitoba, Norway House Cree Nation, located approximately 800 kilometers north of Winnipeg, began growing produce in their hydroponic container farm. Today, the project, entitled Pimâtisiwin Nipî Kistikânihk or Life Water Gardens, grows produce year-round. It has already started selling greens to the local grocery store and has been providing vegetables to a variety of community restaurants and organizations such as the Norway House Hospital; Pinaowachi Personal Care Home; Jean Folster Place – Norway House Cree Nation Shelter; and the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre.

Virginia Muswagon is one of the operators of Norway House’s Growcer system after being approached by the chief and council.

The project was a collective effort between Norway House Cree Nation, Food Matters Manitoba, & BDO Canada LLP. Specifically, the farm grows butterhead, romaine, and wildfire lettuce; kale; pak and bok choy; and a variety of herbs. It is co-managed by Virginia Muswagon and Ian Maxwell. During an interview with ATPN News, they stated that they got involved with the project after being approached by the chief and council since they had previous interests in gardening and botany.

Currently, Norway House has two containers, but it is looking to expand its operation in the future!

In an interview with CTV News, Norway House’s Chief Larson Anderson explained that getting to the stage of selling their produce in the local grocery stores is a huge accomplishment. Additionally, the project has led to complementary initiatives such as the creation of recipe kits to specifically highlight how to integrate the fresh produce grown in the system into the diets of community members.

Chief Anderson has also stated that in the future, the community is considering adding additional growing units and expanding sales to neighboring communities. He described the model as “garden to the store, so to speak.” Overall, it results in fresher produce since the vegetables don’t have to be transported by truck into the community.

Read the full case study to learn more about Norway House’s project and work in the community!