Community Agriculture

Since 2012, TTCD has worked closely with the Native Village of Tyonek (NVT) and Tyonek Native Corporation (TNC) to establish a food security and community agriculture program that serves Tyonek residents. Over the past decade, these efforts have grown into a suite of programs under the Tyonek Grown name including a 1.5 acre community farm and garden, indoor hydroponic systems, educational workshops for youth and adults, and various food security initiatives.

In this time, Tyonek Grown has become a flagship program for remote tribes growing food off the road system in the state of Alaska, growing ~3000 lbs of diversified produce annually and integrating nutrition education, cooking, and food preservation into the lifestyles of the Tyonek community.

Photo credit: NRCS

Tyonek Farm and Garden

The Tyonek Farm and Garden is a 1.5 acre property that serves as both a production farm and community garden space, housing over 2000 row feet of mixed vegetables and a growing number of raised beds for household food production. The farm operation is solar powered and emphasizes soil health principles, ecological practices, and season extension with the use of two NRCS-funded high tunnels and various low-tunnels and row covers.

The property was first cleared in 2009 to provide an additional source of local fresh foods to supplement a subsistence diet of salmon, game, and other subsistence resources. TTCD currently manages the vegetable production, soil and nutrient management, agricultural education activities, and seasonal garden employees. Each year, TTCD hires approx. 4-6 youth interns between the ages of 14-18 to manage the day-to-day operations of the farm. All aspects of food production from seed starting and soil prep to harvest, processing, and distribution are supported by the local student body at Tebughna School.

Hydroponics

TTCD has operated multiple hydroponic systems at Tebughna School with support and involvement of school teachers and students since 2017. The original NFT (nutrient film technique) system was the first system installed to increase winter production of leafy greens, producing successions of up to 80 heads of lettuce and herbs at a time. In 2020, three hydroponic towers were installed to diversify winter food production at the school. Two of these towers have reliably produced a number of new crops and trials including zucchini squash, brassicas, peas, tomatoes, edible flowers and more. The third hydroponic tower has been utilized in the Tebughna School science room for science experiments and education.

Hydroponic food production supplements the school snack and meal programs for Tyonek students, providing a source of locally-grown healthy food that the students take pride in. When excess food is produced, students are also allowed to harvest vegetables to take home.

It is our goal that future expansions and improvements to these systems will allow TTCD to expand year-round local food production to reach all Tyonek residents.