Akoma Holdings, which “…provides stewardship of its assets to create economic and social benefits for the African Nova Scotian community and general society,” recently celebrated the 103rd anniversary of the opening of its first building, in Cherry Brook, N.S.

The Dartmouth-based non-profit says it now has eyes set firmly on building an environmentally sustainable future that should last another century.

Veronica Marsman, Akoma’s property manager, has an office in thoroughly renovated Kinney Place. The building was originally opened as an orphanage for Black children in 1921.

“Just imagine all the hurricanes, the tropical storms, that it would have gone through. Now, with the steel beams we have in it, it can withstand a lot more,” Marsman says.

Akoma also created a vastly improved building envelop in 2022 by installing new windows and doors, blown-in insulation, and heat pumps.

“Now it’s a Black business hub. There are a number of businesses here, such as the Opus Cafe, the hair salon, and others,” she says.

In 2023 they opened “deeply affordable” housing in the form of eight two-bedroom homes, rented out at between $650 to $1,000 a month. Those are now full, so the plan is to build additional, even larger homes.

“Everything is energy efficient, right down to the appliances,” Marsman says.

Akoma sits amid the historically Black communities of Loon Lake, Cherry Brook, North Preston, and East Preston, and Marsman says their conservation grows from deep cultural roots. When Akoma was an orphanage, they grew their own food and cared for their own animals.

“We keep saying that back then we weren’t energy efficient. But I think in some ways, we truly were, especially as a Black people — we had to be,” Marsman says. “I remember turning bread bags inside-out to bring lunch to school and using brown bags to cover textbooks. As Black folks with low financial status, you did whatever you could to survive. We, I feel, have always been energy efficient.”

Akoma has more than 320 acres to develop and is working on creating a Black-run funeral home, crematorium, and cemetery. They are talking to Northwood about building a 96-bed long-term care facility that would bring in 200 jobs.

“We’re sitting on untapped potential by being connected to the three major Black communities,” she says. “And everything we do in our builds is energy efficient.”

Akoma recently installed two electric vehicle chargers, though Marsman says people have been slow to use them. They plan to continue hosting open evenings educating people about EVs and other ways to lead greener lives. “We’re persistent. We’ll continue.”

And the soil that once fed orphans has been turned into a community garden with perhaps the biggest plots in all HRM.

Barbara Steward is one of the people taking advantage of being able to plant in the Akoma garden.

“Some people feed their families with their gardens. There are some exceptional gardeners who have been here for over a decade,” she says.

Steward grows peas, Swiss chard, tomatoes, green peppers, yellow beans, green and broad beans, carrots, beets, butternut squash, kale, cucumbers, and lettuce. She eats most of it to reduce her grocery bill and donates the rest to food pantries. Last year, she says, she canned enough tomatoes to make pizza and pasta sauce for the entire year.

Steward says the gardeners noticed the unusually dry weather last spring weeks before the wildfires.

“Our early crops didn’t do well because of the heat and our later crops didn’t do well because of the flooding,” she says. “You just can’t sustain eating in that sort of climate.”

Marsman says that drives home the importance of environmental stewardship. Akoma wants to be “Membertou number two,” she says, referring to the highly successful Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton, which also blends economic and environmental growth. They are mentoring Akoma.

“Development, yes, but also recognizing our environment,” Marsman says. “We need to be so aware of what we’re doing to our environment. I’ve got grandbabies. I want them to be able to enjoy it.”

-30-

The Climate Story Network is an initiative of Climate Focus, a non-profit organization dedicated to covering stories about community-driven climate solutions.

By downloading this article and/or images, you agree with our Terms of Service.

Download the article >

See the photos available for this story >

Added to the Climate Story Network website: June 19, 2024

Next CSN Article >

You can subscribe to get notified by email when a new article has been published to our site.