Working in camps and catering, Raymond Kotchea is accustomed to being very busy during the winter. However, the paycheques often decline or stop coming at all during the rest of the year. In addition, oil and gas work won't be around forever.

For those reasons, Kotchea came up with an idea to make and sell sleds and boats.

"One day last year I was driving down the road ... and this crossed my mind," he recalled. "When (oil and gas) slows down, it's something for me to do."

He learned how to make the sleds and boats when he was 10 years old. His older brother, Gordon, taught him the skills while they were trapping in the bush.

"I would watch and learn the way he would build stuff," he said. "When I was young they used those (sleds) for packing their groceries, for transport."

The 12-foot-long sleds are made of birch, while the boats are constructed of plywood. Each item, done in his spare time, takes about 12 hours to build.

Kotchea's woodcraft venture is his initial foray into the business world. It's been a little daunting, he admitted.

"This is the first time I've ever done something like this. It's scary," he said. "I'm not to sure whether it's going to work or not."

He gives much credit to Michael Pealow, Fort Liard's economic development officer.

"He helped me a lot. He's done a lot of work. He's the one who got me a small grant from the government," he said. "He put all the paper together and we worked on the proposal."

To date, Kotchea has created a few prototypes for display.

He and Pealow have sent photos to several communities, including Yellowknife, in hopes of generating orders.

"I just want people to see what I could do," he said. "It might catch next year ... maybe then I'll really work on it."