Hopi Tutskwa Regional Food Hub

Beautiful Hopi Mason Artistry including Hopi Corn Stalk by HTPI Build Professionals at the entrance of our facility. Photo by J. Marcus. Interior renovation of community kitchen including installation of floor insulation and use of local timbers. Photo by J. Marcus.Construction of Hopi Masonry Artwork by L. Lomatska, Z. Lomatska,  and A. Joshevaema. Photo by J. Marcus. Interior finish work by Hopi Construction professionals R. Kallestewa and Z. Lomatska. Photo by J. Marcus

Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute (HTPI) is a Native-led non-profit organization that is based in Kykotsmovi Village on the Hopi Reservation. We offer holistic community education that is rooted in Hopi culture, permaculture practices, and community empowerment. We work to address a wide range of issues that impact Hopi people, including growing culturally significant food, stewarding traditional seeds, restoring local watersheds and foodsheds, developing sustainable housing, and renewable energy, developing business opportunities, and supporting regional Land Stewardship. Our work has focused on equipping ourselves and our community with the tools to improve lives, families, clans, and villages. Growing food sustainably, in traditional ways, and with community has led to the development of a mission rooted in growing a robust and resilient local food system. Tribal resiliency and strength come from being able to feed your own community while building a strong network of farmers, food processors, vendors, producers, and consumers. Infrastructure on the Hopi reservation is limited, so creating a collaborative community space where individuals can gather, access computers, connect to the internet, attend educational events, learn how to prepare healthy nutritious foods, enjoy delicious meals together, and process the harvest will greatly improve the capacity of local businesses, individuals, and our community. This will all have resounding positive effects throughout the Hopi Tribe and surrounding tribal communities and will boost the regional food system. We have secured a 25-year lease of our current office space and in 2022 we started extensive remodeling to develop a small-scale Hopi Tutskwa Regional Food Hub Facility to include functional coworking and meeting spaces, a community kitchen, passive solar greenhouse, and an outdoor gathering space. This space will promote and foster the development of emerging local food cooperative while increasing access to fresh and wholesome foods that will improve our community's nutrition, and health, generate employment opportunities, and ultimately increase community self-reliance and self-efficiency. Renovation of the Hopi Tutskwa Regional Food Hub was initially supported through non-federal funding partners. We hired an all-Hopi construction crew who is currently leading the renovation. Our crew consists of eight construction professionals who are focused on executing our building construction plan and have completed a complete roof replacement, exterior hardscaping, interior cleaning and removal/remediation of hazardous waste, interior remodeling, and ADA compliant restrooms. We were recently awarded a USDA Rural Business Development Grant to include the construction of a community kitchen, gathering/feasting space, indoor/outdoor workshop space, and passive solar greenhouse. We will continue extensive renovations over the next year to transform the space into a one-of-a kind regional food hub. Through this proposed initiative, HTPI will increase its capacity as an organization to better serve our community. Infrastructure on the Hopi Reservation is limited, so creating a space where individuals can gather, access computers and connect to the internet, as well as attend educational events will greatly improve the capacity of local economy. In addition, the construction of a Community Kitchen will be available for public use will enable local food processors to increase the amount of products they can prepare, increase the local ingredients they buy, and increase access to traditional and healthy foods in a rural reservation community that has extremely limited food-buying options. The Overarching Goal of our initiative is to increase the availability and access of fresh and healthy food in the Hopi community through local food business development and entrepreneurship by developing a centralized Regional Food Hub. 

Due to the present era of political uncertainty associated with the Trump Administration's Federal Funding Freeze we are sad to report that important federal funding to complete our community kitchen and cold storage facility is being placed on hold for the unforeseeable future. We are currently fundraising to complete construction of our facility and ask for your help to make it happen. Consider donating to help us reach our goal. We appreciate your support!