Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences of the Oglala Lakota College Agriculture Extension Project were diverse and included multiple segments of the Pine Ridge Reservation community. These audiences played a crucial role in shaping the project's initiatives and goals. Here is a detailed description of the key target audiences: Community Members: The project placed a strong emphasis on engaging with the broader community on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Rapid City, and Cheyenne River Reservation. This included adults of various ages and backgrounds, with a focus on those interested in or currently engaged in agricultural activities. Efforts were directed toward enhancing community members' understanding and skills in areas like gardening, food preservation, and traditional plant use. Community gardens engaged students and community members in each of the district centers in learning to grow their own food. Scientific training included geospatial and drone training for community members across South Dakota. Community elders were invited to present about culturally significant plants and animals. Youth and School-Age Children: School programs and initiatives targeted young people, particularly those in local schools. The project aimed to instill an understanding and appreciation of agriculture from a young age. Activities like garden tours and workshops at schools were tailored to be age-appropriate and engaging for children and teenagers. A Lakota Leadership camp was hosted in conjunction with the OLC Math Science and Technology department which taught Lakota youth about cultural practices as related to agriculture. Local Gardeners and Farmers: A significant portion of the project's efforts was dedicated to supporting local gardeners and farmers. This included technical assistance, consultations, and educational workshops focused on practical skills like pest control, plant health, and sustainable farming practices. Oglala Lakota College Staff and Faculty: The project also targeted the staff and faculty of Oglala Lakota College, aiming to enhance their capabilities in delivering agricultural education and supporting community initiatives. This included training in online teaching tools and curriculum development. Regional Stakeholders: Participation in regional food summits and discussions indicates that the project also catered to a broader audience involved in agricultural practices and food sovereignty at a regional level. Entrepreneurs and Business Initiatives: Support and consultations for local projects like a meat packing plant suggest that the project also catered to entrepreneurs and business initiatives within the community that were aligned with agricultural development and food sovereignty goals. The project's target audience was comprehensive, encompassing a wide range of community members from various age groups and backgrounds. By focusing on these diverse groups, the project aimed to foster a community-wide understanding and engagement in agriculture, food security, food sovereignty, and sustainability. This approach underscores the project's holistic view of agricultural education and community development. Changes/Problems:Due to COVID restrictions, the loss of ag extension staff, and not being able to find anyone to fill the positions, there was quite a budget left at the beginning of the 5th year of the project. With this we reached, we reached out to the districts across the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations to see if they would be interested in establishing a community garden. 7 gardens were established in the final year of the project. These gardens had a very high impact, and community members were thrilled by these gardens. Additional districts participated in the planting of traditional food and medicine trees as well. We receive special permission from NIFA in the spring of 2023 to purchase freeze dryers for each of the districts as well. As with the community gardens, thesewill continue to be used and flourish throughout the next 4 years. We also received permission to begin the process of interviewing elders about lakota culturalpractices and traditional plant uses. We realized during COVID that our elders were leaving us much too soon, so we began interviewing the elders and knowledge holders who are still with us. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Year 1 Medicine Root Gardening Training Program: Held in Kyle, SD, through cooperation among the Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition members. Involved 18 weekly training sessions on various aspects of vegetable production, including: South Dakota State University: Presented on "Good Agriculture Practices" (GAP) related to FDA rules for vegetable marketing. Oglala Lakota College's Agriculture Extension Department: Focused on fruit production methods suitable for South-Western South Dakota. Oyate Teca: Concentrated on the Mettleider Garden method for new gardeners. Participants: 62 community members from across the reservation and one from Nebraska. Purpose: To enhance knowledge and skills in vegetable and fruit production and marketing practices. Year 2 Medicine Root Garden Project via ZOOM: Adapted to COVID-19 restrictions, the project used ZOOM for delivering training to about 40+ clients weekly. OLC Agriculture Extension Department's ZOOM Training: Offered Basic Gardening training originally planned for face-to-face delivery, which then shifted to online due to COVID-19. The program reached over 90 clients with about 60 attending at least two sessions. Purpose: To continue gardening education despite pandemic restrictions, ensuring ongoing skill development and knowledge enhancement in gardening and food production. Year 4 Zoom Native Gardening Training: Conducted in collaboration with Pine Ridge College Center and other local groups, focused on food security for small native gardeners. Had 4 sessions with about 8 participants over the sessions. Monthly Meetings and Workshops: Participation in Lakota Food Sovereignty monthly meetings Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition Workshop: Attended by the VP of the Oglala Sioux tribe and various tribal programs, with about 25 attendees. Families Working Together Workshop: Held in Wanblee with approximately 25 attendees. Red Cloud Solar Garden Project: Supported a garden for nursing homes and elders, with about 25 attendees. Food Preservation Training: Held at Red Cloud School's Farm to School program, focusing on hot water bath training and pressure canning demonstration, with 5 and 4 participants, respectively. Purpose: To provide advanced knowledge in native gardening, food sovereignty, and food preservation, supporting community members in enhancing their agricultural skills and practices. Year 5 Workshops Offered: Raised bed-building workshop Container gardening workshop Drone training workshop-80 participants over 4 virtual sessions and 2 in-person sessions Freeze dryer uses Programs such as Oyate Teca, Families Working Together, Makoce, Singing Horse, Conscious Alliance,and Thunder Valley are very successful after 5 years of working with them. Purpose: To provide advanced knowledge in native gardening, food sovereignty, and food preservation, supporting community members in enhancing their agricultural skills and practices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Information related to OLC Agriculture Extension Departmental activities has been posted in an annual report through OLC's assessment office for the world at large to review through OLC webpages and the departmental warehouse document storage. Presentations to OLC Board of Trustees Presentation to Council of Elders Information shared at the Wazi Paha fall festival What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Year 1 Impact: In Year 1, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation project engaged 62 individuals in the Medicine Root Gardening program and food preservation classes, leading to local vegetable production and distribution. This enhanced food sovereignty and supported the local economy. Goal 1: Activities included gardening training and workshops, reaching 7,380 community members. The key outcome was increased gardening skills and awareness, improving food security. Goal 2: Engagement with 7 agricultural farmers/ranchers, 89 gardeners, and others, focused more on gardening than large-scale farming, leading to broadened agricultural participation. Year 2 Impact: The second year saw over 5,850 engagements, addressing the food desert situation amid COVID-19. Families were empowered to grow their own produce, starting to document the economic value of local vegetable production. Goal 1: Activities included various training methods, with high engagement especially among adult females and Native Americans, enhancing knowledge in agriculture and natural resources. Goal 2: Support for local horticultural methods led to families using homegrown produce to alleviate economic pressures, thereby aiding in economic resilience. Year 3 Impact: In Year 3, the project adapted to COVID-19 with Zoom gardening training for over 60 community members, increasing fresh produce availability and emphasizing the economic benefits of home gardening. Goal 1: Year-long Zoom training effectively adapted to COVID-19 guidelines, ensuring ongoing support and sustained community engagement in gardening. Goal 2: Gardening workshops included economic valuation of produce, integrating economic education into gardening, and increasing awareness of its financial benefits. Year 4 Impact: The fourth year marked the development of a business plan for a Vegetable and Hemp farm, a result of the ongoing training and workshops. The Wazi Paha festival and other activities enhanced knowledge about food sovereignty. Goal 1: Activities included food security training and the Wazi Paha festival, leading to continued community involvement and reinforced knowledge on food sovereignty. Goal 2: Focused on native gardening workshops with economic insights, increasing the community's capacity to assess economic benefits of gardening, enhancing local economic sustainability. Year 5 Impact: This project significantly empowered the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River communities by establishing community gardens, planting trees for food and medicine, and providing valuable educational programs like the Lakota Leadership Camp and drone pilot training. The initiatives not only fostered local employment and skill development but also contributed to environmental sustainability and cultural preservation, benefiting society at large through enhanced community resilience and stewardship of natural resources. Goal 1: Increase the knowledge and interest of Reservation community members of all ages in agriculture and natural resources as it relates to food security and food sovereignty. Major Activities Completed: Establishment of 7 community gardens across Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations. Employment of 15 field interns. Planting of trees for food and medicine in 10 districts. Hosting the Lakota Leadership camp in collaboration with the MST department. Interviewed elders about traditional uses of plants Data Collected: Participation data: 31 attendees at the Lakota Leadership camp, including 11 high school students and 9 community members. Employment data: 15 field interns hired. 100 trees of10 variety were planted. Summary Statistics and Discussion of Results: The employment of interns and establishment of community gardens and tree-planting initiatives successfully engaged a diverse group of community members, demonstrating an increased interest in agriculture and natural resources. The varied attendance at the Lakota Leadership camp indicates a broadening interest across different age groups and community sectors. Key Outcomes or Accomplishments Realized: Enhanced community knowledge and engagement in agriculture and natural resources. Increased awareness of food security and sovereignty issues within the community. Goal 2: Assist Lakota agriculture producers and landowners to increase their economic yield through the use of science-based technologies related to their production goals through community educational workshops and training programs or science-based community curricula. Major Activities Completed: Implementation of food preservation techniques using freeze dryers across each district. Conducting drone training sessions for community members. Data Collected: Participation data: 80 attendees across 4 virtual and 2 in-person drone training sessions. Equipment distribution data: freeze dryers are provided to each district (12) and 2 food sovereignty programs (Conscious Alliance and Oyate Teca). Summary Statistics and Discussion of Results: High participation in drone training sessions indicates a strong community interest in adopting new science-based technologies. The distribution and use of freeze dryers for food preservation suggest a practical application of scientific knowledge in enhancing food storage and security. Key Outcomes or Accomplishments Realized: Increased capability of the community in employing modern agricultural technologies. Improved economic prospects for local agriculture producers through enhanced knowledge and application of science-based practices.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Oglala LakotaCollege'sAgriculture ExtensionDepartment has continued to deliver community-based educational workshops and technical assistance to the Pine Ridge Reservations agriculture clienteleto meet the individual client's needs upon their individual request for assistance. Requestshave not only been from individual agriculture producers, gardeners, and community members, but also from local community programs that work with community members in the food, shelter, and fiber production on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Pine Ridge Reservation community members who by Oglala Sioux Tribal government are all landowners of the land resources with tribal control and some also have ownership of fee lands or alloted family lands. In addition to the OLC college centers, the extension program worked with Oyate Teca Medicine Root Gardens, Thunder Valley Food, Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition, Families Working Together, Red Cloud Solar, and Red Cloud School's Farm to School program during 2021-2022. Changes/Problems:Our activities were extremely curtailed in 21-22 due to Tribal COVID restrictions to protect the elderly and other vulnerable people on the Reservation. During the Summer of 2022, the extension director retired. Leslie Henry had been the extension director for 27 years and a huge transition is in place to fill her role. Prior to her retirement, she faced many health issues so not as many things were completed in 2021-22 as we had hoped. Because there is also no assistant director, the program has been at a standstill. We have advertised for positions and have applicants. We hope to interview in January of 2023 to start at that time. Due to staff shortages (director and assistant director), we have quite a bit of salary budget that will be unspent. We would like to move some of this to equipment (see next paragraph) and supplies (see final paragraph). We said we would purchase freeze driers for food preservation at the college centers and plan to do that in the spring of 2023. We plan to purchase 14 freeze dryers for community members to use for food preservation. One for each college center (12) and two community organizations. With permission from NIFA we will have to rearrange the budget for equipment costs compared to when the proposal was first written as Freeze dryers have significantly increased in cost. We are planning a training for community members on how to use the freeze dryer at each of the 14 locations. Previously we said we would purchase laptops for community members to use so this is something we plan to do in spring 2023. With other funds, OLC built and outfitted a greenhouse at the He Sapa College center in Rapid City, SD, one of the goals for 2023 is to assist the Math, Science, and Technology research faculty with growing traditional plants and disseminating them out to the community and the college centers. Eventually, we would like to outfit a greenhouse near the Piya Wiconi campus in the Kyle, SD area. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Zoom native gardening zoom training was conducted during the spring of 2022 with Pine Ridge College Center and other local community groups such as Oyate Teca Medicine Root Gardens and Thunder Valley Food sovereignty programs to aid in food security for small native gardeners. There were 4 sessions with about 8 participants over the 4 sessions. The extension director Leslie Henry attended the Lakota Food Sovereignty monthly meetings the 3rd Thursday of every month. There were about 25 attendees with 75% female and 25% male adults per monthly meeting. Meetings were held in person and via zoom. Extension director Leslie Henry assisted with Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition workshop in April 2022. The VP of the Oglala Sioux tribe presented at this workshop, along with at least 4 different tribal programs. There were approximately 25 attendees. Families Working Together hosted a Food sovereignty workshop in Wanblee during summer 2022. There were approximately 25 attendees. Red Cloud Solar hosted a garden for the nursing home and elders in the Pine Ridge area during the summer of 2022. There were approximately 25 attendees. During the summer of 2022, a food preservation and hot water bath training were held for Pine Ridge residents. There were 5 participants at this workshop which was held at the Red Cloud School's Farm to School program. During the summer of 2022, a food preservation and pressure canning demo was offered for the Pine Ridge residents. There were 4 participants at this workshop which was held at the Red Cloud School's Farm to School program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results are disseminated through the USDA/NIFA REEport and an internal OLC annual report shared on their webpage and data links to all residents who are willing to put in the time to open and read the reports. Also shared with OLC BOT upon request. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?OLC's Agriculture Extension Department plans on continuing to use ZOOM technology, FaceBook, and Messenger to communicate or host workshop training for Pine Ridge Reservation community members. Individual requests for assistance will continue to be handled through email and/or Facebook messenger during the Covid-19 pandemic. Local area workshops following OST Covid-19 guidelines will be available upon request by community members. We plan to hire a new extension director and assistant director. We plan to purchase freeze dryers for each of the college centers and a couple of community organizations that would allow community members to come to preserve foods to be used all year round. We are planning workshops for community members to learn how to use freeze-dryers for food preservation.We plan to work with the Math Science and technology department to get traditional plants grown in the greenhouse out to the college centers and communities. OLC Extension plans to cohost (with the Math, Science, and Technology department) an innovative Lakota Leadership bootcamp for high school students and community members during the summer of 2022. This bootcamp will prepare students to be leaders not only in STEM but within the tribal community. A community component will be vitally important. We have identified several community members whose leadership and expertise could positively impact our youth and undergraduate students. Some have created community projects that reflect food sovereignty, and strong Lakota traditional knowledge and language. During the bootcamp, students will receive academic preparation by planning out the remainder of the high school and preparing for college, mentoring and tutoring opportunities with OLC undergraduates; cultural activities that incorporate Lakota ways of knowing and learning with western science, including bison ceremonies, traditional plant identification (turnips, chokecherries, cansasa-red willow), traditional ceremonies, language and culture, food preparation (freeze-drying, canning, drying corn, making wasna); and personal development including building a resume and personal finance. The tiospaye, community leaders, and tribal programs will be an integral part of the bootcamp for it to be a success. At the end of the bootcamp, participants will produce a poster to reflect what they have learned and highlight their future endeavors. Twenty students per year (plus numerous family and community members)will be involved in the week-long bootcamp with the potential to expand the bootcamp to a second cohort of students after the first year. Upper-level undergraduates and graduate students will help mentor the leadership program students. The reach of this program will impact families and communities across the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations influencing students to become leaders in their communities. Expand the annual Wazi Paha festival and recruit more community members for growing food and food preparation. Bring in all the districts to participate. We would like to offer outreach extension funds for supplies and stipends to the OLC community to do various extension projects.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In2022, a group from the Slim Buttes (White Dress Farms) area put together a business plan for a Vegetable and Hemp farm. This plan is an example of the impact that the OLC extension program has had on the community by providing training and workshops over the last 4 years on Lakota agriculture. This group carried on with the education they received and developed this plan. Most participants were female. Goal 1: Increase the knowledge and interest of Reservation community members of all ages in agriculture and natural resources as it relates to food security and food sovereignty. A number of trainings and workshops were held to increase community knowledge about food security and sovereignty issues throughout 2021-22. A total of 50 community participated during this time and many more community members were impacted by the work of the OLC extension program. During the fall of 2022, OLC had its Annual Wazi Paha festival in conjunction with the inauguration of President Dawn Frank. Activities included educational workshops, a traditional powwow, indigenous games (longbow archery, double ball, and hand games), arts and crafts judging (quill jewelry, beaded jewelry, quilts, visual arts-drawing, painting, photography, sculptures, beadwork, and traditional dolls), a cook-off contest, produce judging, and an evening meal. The Wazi Paha festival is a celebration of the traditional Lakota practices as well as a demonstration of food sovereignty and security. Goal 2: Assist Lakota agriculture producers and landowners to increase their economic yield through the use of science-based technologies related to their production goals through community education workshops and training programs or science-based community curricula. The OLC extension program offered native gardening workshops including resource materials on how to relate the dollar value of what was produced in individual gardens and how this increased not only the number of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Pine Ridge Reservation area Food Desert but also the economic impact of freeing up other resources for more costly foods (as meats).
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Pine Ridge Reservation community members who by Oglala Sioux Tribal goverment are all landowners of the land resources with tribal control and some also have ownership in fee patien lands or alloted family lands. Changes/Problems:Turning the last two years Covid-19 has been a challenge for providing local workshop trainings to agriculture, Food security, and food sovereignty related activities. Many clients get a better understanding with hands on activities but these were out of the question during these pandemic times. ZOOM technology and Facebook seemed to be a accaptiable method for some clients to get assistance. Others would prefer to use email or text messege OLC Agriculture Extension staff on individual issues related to their production and or fiscal goals. The Covid-19 pademic will continue to be an issue in content delevery in the upcoming years and other resouces will have to be explored to meet the needs of current and future clients. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results are disseminated though the USDA/NIFA REEport and an internal OLC annual report shared on their webpage and data links to all residince who are willing to put in the time to open and read the reports. Also shared with OLC BOT upon request. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?OLC's Agriculture Extension Department plans on continuing to use ZOOM technology, FaceBook and Messenger to communicate or host workshop trainings for Pine Ridge Reservation community members. Individual request for assistace will continue to be handled through email and/or Facebook messenger during the Covid-19 pandimic. Local area workshops following OST Covid-19 guidelines will be available upon request by community members for groups no larger than 10 people for in person training.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1:Increase the knowledge and interest of Reservation community members of all ages in agriculture and natural resources as it relates to food security and food sovereignty. Year long ZOOM gardening training was conducted with other local community groups as Oyate Teca Medicine Root Gardens and Thunder Valley Food sovsregnty programs to aid in food security from small gadeners. Over 60 community members were trainings either in small groups of 10 or less or by way of ZOOM inorder to meet OST Covid-19 guidelines. Goal 2:Assist Lakota agriculture producers and landowners to increase their economic yield through use of science-based technologies related to their production goals through community educational workshops and training programs or science-based community curricula. Included in the gardening workshops were resource materials on how to relate the dollar value of what was produced in individual gardens and how this increased not only the quantity of fresh fruits and vegetable in the Pine Ridge Reservation area Food Desert but also the economic impact of freeing up other resources for more costly foods (as meats).
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period, Oglala Lakota College's Agriculture Extension Department reached 5,866 individual contacts related to questions or training sessions in areas of Agriculture production or economics. Of those individual contacts, there were repeat contacts from some of the same producers or individuals as currently, the department does not have a way to sort out repeat contacts from their data collection system. Of those contact 18 known different organizations have been worked with to coordinate training on the Pine Ridge Reservation and surrounding area. Also, a known 65 productive gardeners attended one or more of the training systems and this was documented as productive gardeners through an annual local garden tour day/days. New hemp producers also contacted the department for production assistance related to their CBD oil plant farms. Pine Ridge Reservation community at large were provided with access to information from the department upon individual requests or through access to OLC's Website. Changes/Problems:Though the project year of 2019-2020 started out with normal Face-to-Face training it changed in the Spring semester of 2020 to be a challenging learning curve for OLC Agriculture Extension staff due to Covid-19 recommendations to delivery of community training with the use of distance technologies as ZOOM. This was not only a challenge but also a blessing in the fact that it increased the geographic area of the department to provide training outside of the Pine Ridge Reservation boundaries to a larger Native American clientele and to service tribal members both on and off the reservation. The major hurdle was the staff adapting to the new delivery system and the high pace of learning technology along with design methods of transferring materials to clients at their time of need. The Agriculture Extension staff also had to adapt to utilizing their private Facebook Messanger account to assist clients in almost a 24-7 mode as questions would be sent to staff through messenger at all times of the day, on weekends, and when staff was no longer on an official Oglala Lakota College contract of employment as by policy staff are off-contract for the 30 days during the summer. During the time when staff was off-contract their time used to assist community clients was counted as volunteer time for the department. Staff is still on a learning curve to process the Covid-19 restrictions and exploring new ways of assisting clients to conduct their business with limited Face-to-Face contact. Oglala Lakota College implemented a policy of no more than six people in a group for staff to be in a Face-to-Face delivery system with unlimited distance clients through the use of ZOOM technologies for delivery of educational and meeting-based contact with clients. This is still a challenge and will continue to be a challenge for the next year or more of the delivery of services to Pine Ridge Reservation clients. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the Medicine Root Garden project with another means of delivery of training activities to about 40+ clients on a weekly basis through the use of the OLC Agriculture Extension Departments ZOOM account as a method to continue the program with the National Covid-19 recommendations went into effect. During this time the department took the lead in the delivery of the training modules to the Medicine Root Garden program's clients. Also, the department expanded a ZOOM Basic Gardening training for OLC's Pine Ridge College Center which was originally planned for a Face-to-Face program at the college center site, but because of Covid-19 and college restrictions of no public being allowed within the college centers facility, the program had to be rethought and changed to a distance deliver system from Face-to-Face for public safety. Below is a Weblink to the Basic Gardening training schedule of ZOOM delivery training. This program had over 90 clients sign on to ZOOM with about 60 clients attending at least 2 of the training sessions. http://warehouse.olc.edu/local_links/ag/docs/index.php?dir=department_overview/Communications/&file=2020gardenWorkshopPRCC03-05.pdf How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through an annual reporting system at Oglala Lakota College information on all projects are available to the public at large through the college's Website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The department will continue to provide the availability of the community to schedule training and meetings through the department's OLC access to ZOOM technology to service the community clients' needs upon request for individual or group meeting formats.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments: Goal 1: Increase the knowledge and interest of Reservation community members of all ages in agriculture and natural resources as it relates to food security and food sovereignty. OLC's Agriculture Extension department serviced over 5,850 individual contacts with clients during the project time period of September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020, through the use of the following delivery systems: emails, Facebook Messenger, small five-person workshops in person, individual meetings with clients through ZOOM or in-person (following all Covid-19 protocols), ZOOM group training workshops or meetings for larger than five people, phone, etc. Of these clients 27 were youth males (under age 18); 77 were youth females (under age 18); 27% were adult males (over age 18); 72% were adult females and over 99% were Native American. Goal 2: Assist Lakota agriculture producers and landowners to increase their economic yield through the use of science-based technologies related to their production goals through community education workshops and training programs or science-based community curricula. The majority of the above Native American clients were concerned about the security of their food supply through Covid-19 and were assisted with local horticultural methods to increase access to locally grown vegetable foods which are in short supply as the area is classified as a Food Desert. Though this may not show up as a recorded financial-economic gain statistical on National databases it is individual families gain to grow their own produce so that the limited economic resources the family has can be utilized on other consumer products that the families needed. Clients through the Medicine Root Garden project were beginning the process of learning why record keeping of their garden's production could aid them in knowing how many dollars they were adding to the family food sovereignty and security concerns on the reservation. This data has not been well document within the Pine Ridge Reservation but also across the state of South Dakota as far as local vegetable production. The USDA Rural Development office tried to find local data for a program called Pine Ridge Agriculture Economy in a concept paper in 2016 but their research had to rely on the state of Iowa's production and economics to complete their concept paper as this information is missing for not only Western South Dakota but the whole state. Attached is a Weblink to this report. http://warehouse.olc.edu/local_links/ag/docs/index.php?dir=department_overview/2016_2017_prae/&file=2016_3_30_PRAE.pdf By the local Medicine Root Garden project beginning the process of data collection will give the area a better idea of what can be produced within the Pine Ridge Reservation boundaries and its local or family economic value which is often overlooked from the current business model of economics. Under the current United States, business model self-produced resources are undercounted as having any economic value. This paradigm view is slowly changing as economists look at changing the formulas for giving a dollar value correlation to other self-sustaining productions.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audiences: Oglala Lakota College's Agriculture Extension Department services the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South-West South Dakota and has the Oglala Lakota residence and landowners as their main target audience. This area is over 95% Native American with the main tribal affiliation of Oglala and the other 5 % of the population is primarily Western European descent with a few Hispanic and Black residences. One major audience group that the program has been working with is the Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition who is working on local food development and food sovereignty as the area is classified as a food desert. Training has been conducted for residence in the following communities across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: Oglala, Pine Ridge, Martin, Batesland, Allen, Wanblee, Wounded Knee, Porcupine, Kyle, Sharps Corner communities in South Dakota. Also, an individual from Hay Springs, NE who is Native Alaskan requested technical assistance on a business plan for a Meat processing plant for their banker to look into obtaining capital to purchase. Changes/Problems:One major challenge for the recording of data for this project has been a way to systematically track the number of times one individual attends multiple workshops, planning meetings, or requests for information. Also, it has been hard to record individual email communications requesting information or assistance and track the information given. This continues to be a challenge as tracking cuts into the amount of time needed to assist clients. The OLC Agriculture Extension Department continues to look for an easier way to systematically track clients but at current staffing, this is a challenge. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One of the major opportunities for training to community members happened in the Spring of 2019 in the community of Kyle, SD through the cooperation of three of the Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition members through a local youth center " Oyate Teca" was the Medicine Root Gardening Training program who was also supported by Running Strong for American Indian Youth. The Medicine Root Gardening Training program coordinated training from the following coalition members: Oyate Teca, South Dakota State University, & Oglala Lakota College's Agriculture Extension Department. As a team, they presented about 18 weekly training sessions with each member responsible for presenting different parts of the garden training activities or being present for the group of trainees to ask general questions related to vegetable production in a home garden or small scale farmers market garden. SDSU Extension staff present information on GAP "Good Agriculture Practices" related to new FDA rules for marketing vegetables to the public. Oglala Lakota College presented information on fruit production methods that would work in the local reservation area and varieties of fruit trees that would have the best opportunity to survive and produce fruit within the South-Western South Dakota environment. Oyate Teca focused on the Mettleider Garden method as one of the easiest for a new gardener to apply to their home garden and be successful in the production of vegetables in the first year of learning. Trainers were allowed to attend the whole training program to help provide technical assistance to the community members who attended each week and also to refresh their training skills and knowledge base. Sixty-two community members signed up for the training program from eight different communities across the reservation and one from Nebraska. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information related to OLC Agriculture Extension Departmental activities has been posted in an annual report through OLC's assessment office for the world at large to review through OLC webpages and the departmental warehouse document storage. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?OLC's Agriculture Extension Department plans to continue to work with the Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition to address food-related issues on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They will also continue working with the Medicine Root Gardening program as a means to provide technical assistance to area food producers and assist in growth opportunity development to give the residence a larger supply of locally grown high-quality produce.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT: The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a food desert under current national guidelines as there is only one major supper market that serves a remote area larger geographic than Delaware or Rhode Island combined. Through the cooperation of organizations and community member who has been working together since 2016 on working together through the Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition to inform the community of lack of local foods and especially fresh vegetable produce members of the group with guidance from one main member the Oyate Teca project (with funding from Running Strong for American Indian Youth who provided local gardeners with startup supplies) who hosted the Medicine Root Gardening training program 62 individuals got access to materials and hands-on training in the form of 18 garden workshops and Food Preservation classes provided by OLC Agriculture Extension starting on August 20, 2019, at 5:30 pm and going through September 2019 on a weekly bases. The project also had the opportunity to sell their locally grown produce to the Oyate Teca project for their food distribution program for needy families and elders which was supported by their funder. One of the trainees announced at the end of the canning training sessions that they had gotten their OST Meals for Elder's program to agree to purchase more locally grown vegetables during the 2020 growing season which will increase the local demand but more importantly improve the quality and quantity of fresh vegetables to OST elders. Goal 1: Increase the knowledge and interest of Reservation community members of all ages in agriculture and natural resources as it relates to food security and food sovereignty. The project reached the 2018 Fall Semester approximately 1,155 area community members, the 2019 Spring Semester 5,769 community members, 2019 Summer 81 community members and during the month of August 2019 Fall Semester reached 375 community members. For a total yearly count of 7,380 individual contacts of area community members. Many of these individual contacts maybe duplicate individuals but were individual communications of some type. Goal 2: Assist Lakota agriculture producers and landowners to increase their economic yield through the use of science-based technologies related to their production goals through community education workshops and training programs or science-based community curricula. Of those assisted in some way in Goal 1 above there were only 7 self-declared Agricultural farmers/ranchers, 89 gardeners, 26 community volunteers, 18 organizations and 4,952 individual landowners.
Publications
|
|