Group aims to help self-sufficiency grow in N.C.

Resilient, adaptable and independent are traits that have long defined the traditional character of Hatteras Island residents.

But improvements in transportation and communication since the 1950s brought the outside world to the island - and in the process left it more dependent on others for food.

Coastal Harvesters, a new nonprofit on the island, wants to restore the self-sufficiency of the island lifestyle by establishing a community garden and a farmers market. Also, if the county health department approves, fresh fish would be sold directly to consumers.

"This was done out of looking at what we've become," said founder Joanne Throne, a Buxton resident who had owned and operated The Mad Crabber restaurant in Avon for 16 years.

"We've become an economy that's totally dependent on tourism.... Now the average age of fishermen is 56," she said, referring to the reluctance of young people to pursue the profession. "They are not masters of their own fate anymore."

Food is healthiest and tastes best, she said, when it is fresh and in season. Local economies benefit from sales of locally grown, locally caught and locally produced items. But few islanders plant gardens anymore, and much of the fish caught off Hatteras is shipped elsewhere.

She said the idea is " that we should be a self-supporting economy."

Throne, today a yoga instructor "in my 50s," said that during her early career as a professional dancer, she traveled in Europe and was impressed by the farmers markets she saw in nearly every community.

With its culture rooted in autonomy, the close-knit community on Hatteras, Throne said, would be a perfect candidate for a market that sells produce, flowers and herbs grown in a small community garden or by local gardeners.

"There's a huge interest in doing this," Throne said. "It's just hard to get it up and running. We're trying to do it in a very businesslike modality."

Throne, the president of the six-member board of directors, said the group is seeking a $32,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and another for $10,000 from the Outer Banks Community Foundation. The county Department of Public Heath has awarded the harvesters a $700 grant from the Childhood Obesity Prevention Project.

Coastal Harvesters has had discussions with the county about acquiring land for the garden, but she did not specify the location. As of now, she said, there is no site for the market. Throne said the group would welcome commercial land donations, ideally in Avon or Buxton. It is also working on cooperative arrangements with local restaurants and an organic meat producer.

Bernie Tetreault, an Avon resident and the nonprofit's vice president, said he grew up on a farm in Connecticut and has gardened all his life. But considering the fossil fuel burned to transport food, he said, its production today has a broader environmental impact.

"We bring in food from all over the world, some of which can be produced right here," he said. "We're trying to reduce the carbon footprint by getting the production of food closer to the consumer."

Tetreault, a 70-year-old affordable-housing consultant, said the goal is to have a year-round community garden with rotating crops that is self-sustaining. He said it is likely achievable in about three years.

Eventually the group wants to include local students so they learn firsthand the rewards of gardening. Another objective, he said, is to be able to donate to the local food bank. Independent production of energy though solar and wind will also be explored as ways to enhance self-sufficiency.

With the economy in shambles and issues like sea-level rise becoming a concern, Tetreault said, he believes the island community - the villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras - is supportive of Coastal Harvesters' efforts.

"I sense a coming together," he said.