Recipient: Cheslatta Carrier Nation
Amount: 95000
Date: 2009-10-07
Areas: Burns Lake and Southside
Sectors: Business Development
Strategy: Planning and Research
Description: This is a Cheslatta First Nations research and development initiative with a main objective of creating a social enterprise, providing it is shown to be feasible. During the 2007-2008 fiscal Cheslatta Carrier Nation (CCN) received a Western Diversification (CEDI) grant to explore opportunities for harvesting, processing, and marketing the waterwood (timber recovered from the Nechako Reservoir) and beetle kill timber as well as to address infrastructure deficiencies. To date, CCN have successfully started to produce paddles and a growing line of craft and gift items, including functional paddles, promotional sizes (from 12" to 36"), spirit feathers, drum frames, carved canoes, and key fobs. The purpose of this feasibility phase of the project is to perfect and streamline the current product line, develop and add new viable products as well as to design and implement a marketing strategy.