Winners' Spotlight
Kobuk River Cabins
May 2009 Alaska Marketplace Winner
The goal of this project was to build cabins using alternative energy solutions along the Kobuk River. The winner planned to create jobs in her community by hiring local residents from the villages of Kobuk, Amber and Shungnak to build the cabins, and by hiring local tour guides for hunting, fishing, and sightseeing. Scroll down to view images of the Kobuk River Cabins campsite and learn about this winner's progress.
"We are very thankful for the award money we received
and the opportunity that the Alaska Federation of Natives provided
for the people of Alaska through this competition. This competition
delivers the funding to people who can really make a difference
in daily life in rural Alaska. We were able to jump start our business
and show people that they too can make their business ideas
become a reality." -- Eva Sheldon-Mandregan, Kobuk River Cabins
Since receiving their award money in June, Kobuk River Cabins has purchased all the tools, equipment, and materials needed to build their first cabin. They also purchased a large sawmill, which took six local men to transport to the campsite.
They started construction of the cabin and campsite in July. The campsite and cabin will be completed this Fall. With the award money, they were able to hire four laborers and two carpenters, creating six jobs in their local community. They had volunteers as well -- and plenty of people stopping by the campsite to get a look at the sawmill and the progress being made. The sawmill was quite the talk of the area for a while, with local folks offering suggestions left and right.
Kobuk River Cabins had to wait on freight planes to get materials to Kobuk, which delayed their construction timeline.
Even before finishing construction, Kobuk River Cabins hosted their first visitors this summer! The group stayed in Kobuk, and got a good sense of life in a small traditional village in the Arctic. They loved it and are planning to return for winter fishing and fall hunting. The visitors enjoyed the company of the winner's father and were impressed by the effort being invested in the business, as well as it's benefit to the surrounding community.
Kobuk River Cabins' success in winning the Alaska Marketplace competition landed them in the NANA Hunter Shareholder Spotlight, Arctic Sounder, and RuralCAP Village Voices. The media attention provided a great opportunity to show people what they have to offer, and that persistence does pay off -- Kobuk River Cabins did not win the first time they entered the competition, but they learned from that experience, and won the second time around!
They believe that the publicity also showed that normal, everyday people can make a difference if they apply themselves and take advantage of opportunities.
Writers for the NANA Hunter are planning to visit the Kobuk River Cabins campsite in the Fall to stay in the cabin and take photos of their family campsite. People taking the initiative to use their own resources to help the communities, and improve life in the area make for a great story!
Kobuk River Cabins was exclusively funded by their Alaska Marketplace winnings, so the rising cost of air freight, material, and fuel has taken a toll on the business. With a few other unbudgeted items that came up, they found themselves unable to purchase the alternative energy equipment they had hoped for. But the good news is that they plan to learn from their experience and account for similar unbudgeted items in their next application for funding.
They continue to have people call for visits to the Kobuk and are planning to build more cabins. "Build it, and they will come!"
"I hope that you can see how the award money trickled
down from donations by corporate entities, to people, to families,
and communities. We accomplished some of our goals, but we
are not done. We have a few more cabins to build, more people
to hire, and show our use of alternative energy in the Arctic. We
are looking forward to the next competition."
-- Eva Sheldon-Mandregan, Kobuk River Cabins
