Canadore College helps Timiskaming First Nation with new mobile harvesting unit

A QuebecFirst Nation is maximizing the fruits of itsknowledge with technology with anew mobile harvesting trailer that was put together with the help of Canadore College in North Bay.

The Timiskaming First Nation representatives recently picked up the mobile harvesting unit,designed to help the First Nationharvest and quicklyprocess wild products such as edible mushrooms, plants and berries.

"The prototype will enable [our]Wild Basket team to become more efficient with our time and energy while maintaining our products' high quality," said Tara Dantouze, Timiskaming First Nation Natural Resource Manager.

"We anticipate this will be a home base of sorts to our employees harvesting in the field. For example, if there is a great mushroom patch 90 minutes away, they will be able to tow the mobile processing unit to the location, pitch a tent, and spend a couple of days harvesting and processing the products instantly. They will not need to travel back to the office in Timiskaming First Nation."

Inside the prototype is a refrigeration unit, two dehydrator units, and two sinks where employees will be able to store or process their harvest almost immediately.

"Essentially, we will be cutting down the time that our products would be sitting in the heat on the drive back to the office," Dantouze said.

Canadore College's director of Innovation Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping said the trailer is unique.

"Employees from programs across the College were involved, and there was a collaboration with more [than] 20 different businesses in the community to get it done,"Brad Gavansaid.

Timiskaming First Nation formed The Wild Basket program to help the community preserve the environment, build a sustainable economy, and learn more about their culture.

Air conditioning included

"It is really important that we provide the tools for those who want to learn more about the forests and the environment that surrounds us,"Dantouzesaid.

"Learning about your identity and culture through the food you harvest is important. The educational chain in traditional food processing and preparation is intertwined with traditional knowledge."

She adds the mobile harvesting trailer shows that even a small First Nation like Timiskaming can be innovative with technology and preserve traditional knowledge.

The mobile processingunit is almost 7 metres long and 2.4 metres wide. (22' x8'), and cost about $100,000.

"It's tall enough for people to go and work inside of. We also have an air conditioning unit in there for the hot summer months,"Dantouzesaid.

She notes that traditional food systems are "really important" to theirour identity.

"There's a lot of different information that can be learned, just the simple act of gathering wild. And really that's what we're interested in doing gathering that traditional knowledge and then intersecting it with new technology so that we can create more opportunities for the future generation."

Dantouzesays she's excited the trailer has come to fruition.

"I'm really proud of the time and effort that it took to get to this point," she said.

"It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it means a lot to the community members, as well, to see thatwe're a small First Nation community, but we're also very innovative in our approach to using the forestaround us."