Ecotrust Canada

Background of the organization 

For 30 years Ecotrust Canada (EC) has been proving it’s possible to create healthy, localized economies and resilient communities by embracing the connection between social and environmental well-being. EC works with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities to advance sustainable solutions across five priority areas: Climate Resilience, Indigenous Homelands, Community Fisheries, Community Food Systems, and Community Energy.

Project description 

Funding will support a pilot project called “Routes to Roots” – a framework for a self-sufficient regional supply chain network, which strives towards a socially and environmentally circular economy, driven by youth. This initiative aims to strengthen local economies, create sustainable employment pathways for Indigenous youth, and develop an open-access toolkit for self-sufficient housing supply chains. The initial pilot project is based along the Central Coast & Central Interior of BC, in collaboration with Nuxalk Nation, and will serve as a model for other regions to replicate and scale it across Canada. The essence of this project is based in the Nuxalk concept of Stl’mstaliwa, which translates to “the full human experience.” This project is etched in the understanding that to have sovereignty and sustainability we ought to be interdependent rather than independent; it therefore aims to collectively uplift youth to their full human experience, by returning to the land in way that is economically, environmentally, culturally, and socially viable.