How it came to be…
Lloyd and I officially met in junior high when paired together during a food drive for our community. Being provided the opportunity to work in partnership with others in our town toward a bigger picture goal left a lasting impression on both of us and inspired us to one day work to provide similar opportunities with others.
The Tuckamore Foundation is dedicated to:
bringing, and building, community together
creating opportunities in our community
showcasing and celebrating the strengths’ of our community members
giving back
OUR FIRST INITIATIVe: Youth in Agriculture Program
Our first Initiative: Youth in Agriculture Program, a partnership with Potlotek First Nation, Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island).
We are grateful to be working with Tahirih Paul, Economic Development Officer, of Potlotek First Nation. We wanted to offer youth, especially women, an opportunity to gain exposure to various professions within the agricultural sector, they might not otherwise have access to.
Unless you grow up on a farm, it can be hard to see a window into the field. If you don’t see yourself represented, it can also be hard.
The summer of 2020, we welcomed students to our apiary for some hands on experience and had some great conversations surrounding various aspects of the business side of farming including things not always considered like branding and social media marketing.
Potlotek is also making amazing strides in providing food security within their own community. One project geared toward increasing food security that Tahirih is specifically involved in is the creation of a community greenhouse! We are excited to work together to bring some of our bees to this space to help with pollination services to maximize food production.
COVID-19 slightly modified our plans for the spring/summer 2020 season but we were still able to start this initiative and dedicate hives to the program. The hives did produce honey and we sold specially marked jars with a portion of the proceeds being dedicated back into the food security initiative.
We did not want to wait until any certain business benchmark to start our foundation; anyone can get involved and help in their community exactly as they are.
The Tuckamore Foundation is a long term dream of Tuckamore Homestead Inc. We hope that this is only the beginning. As always, thank you for being here.
-Samantha & Lloyd
If you are someone involved in the agricultural sector that might be interested in participating in our Youth in Agriculture Program, please contact us via: hi@tuckamorehomestead.com. We are hoping to host other professionals here at our homestead to speak with youth about their particular field of expertise. Meetings will be planned according with COVID-19 safety guidelines and procedures.