SANIKILUAQ
Excitement is building as a new government investment will help restart the eiderdown industry in Sanikiluaq, which will lead to 15 new jobs and the goal of a self-sustaining factory.
Sanikiluaq is restarting its eiderdown industry thanks to a $175,857 government investment. Down will be harvested from eider ducks, pictured here, when they nest in summer. - photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons |
Three government bodies are teaming up to fund the project. CanNor is putting in $28,952, the government of Nunavut $107,494 and the Sanikiluaq hamlet $39,511, bringing the total investment to $175,857.
The previous factory shut down in 2005 after government dropped its funding.
Eiderdown is harvested from the nests of eider ducks, which are found on the islands around Sanikiluaq during the summer. Eider ducks pluck the down from their bodies in summer to insulate their nests. They regrow their down for the winter.
"The former issue was they didn't have proper sterilization procedures to meet regulations of a lot of the organizations in the south," explained Brandon Clark, community economic development officer with the Sanikiluaq hamlet. "We've upgraded our sterilization system to meet their requirements."
Previously, the factory used UV light to clean eiderdown, but that sometimes missed areas. The new system uses an oven to heat the eiderdown and kill any bacteria in it.
Clark said there are lots of motivated people in the community who will be able to make parkas, duvets and other eiderdown products to sell worldwide.
Eiderdown is a luxury product that sells for big bucks. The Sanikiluaq factory would make products to sell to larger retailers. Clark said the final retail price of parkas made with eiderdown could be $1,500 and vests could go from $500 to $800.
"We would be purchasing the down from locals who travel to the various islands around the community," said Clark.
Each kilogram of down will net locals $500 but it could take 16 to 18 nests to find that much. Collectors are allowed to remove up to half of the down in a nest to prevent damaging the eggs.
"Then we would hire probably three ladies to do the cleaning of the down and we would hire about six seamstresses to do the sewing of the product," said Clark.
He's looking to purchase about 150 kilograms of eiderdown in the first year.
"There's a major, time-consuming process to clean the down to make sure it's suitable to use in goods," said Clark.
"When the locals bring it in, it's got sticks and feathers in it and the feathers have to be picked out by hand. We've got two machines that remove dust and dirt from it."
At least eight hours are required to process each kilogram of down, and that doesn't include drying time.
The goal this time is to make the factory self-sustaining.
"We've got government money to get it up and going this year, and then hopefully after this year we should be able to sustain it on its own dollars," said Clark.
Daryl Dibblee, senior administrative officer with the hamlet, said he's excited.
"We got the all-clear for the asbestos last week," said Dibblee. "We got clean air down there. We had to redo the floor and the walls, and we're still aiming for end of March, early-April for startup."
Dibblee said the eiderdown plant and a recently established rock crushing operation will produce up to 40 jobs in a community of 800.
"That's significant," he said. "When you take a community of 800, take out the children and elders, that's a significant number. That's how you get poverty reduction, create some employment."
The hamlet has hired a manager and assistant manager for the eiderdown plant, and is now advertising for seamstresses.
