Marilyn Faulkner knows firsthand the challenges of growing food in Nunatsiavut’s rocky, acidic soils. Born in the tight-knit Inuit community of Rigolet and now a community member of Makkovik on the North Coast of Labrador, she grew up learning to work with what the land provides. Today, as the Inuit Food Systems research technician with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), that same resourcefulness is at the heart of Marilyn’s work with the Supporting Makkovimmiut Food Systems partnership project. This collaboration between AAFC and Makkovik Inuit Community Government follows a community-directed approach to strengthening the diverse food systems of Makkovimmiut (residents of Makkovik). Composting research is a central component of this extensive project. Marilyn and other members of the AAFC research team have combined organic waste with sustainable and natural local materials to create nutrient-rich compost that improves the region’s soils for agriculture. One of the secrets to their success is a dedicated network of volunteer community composters.
By carefully timing harvesting, stockpiling, and mixing of ingredients, the team has been able to produce useable compost in 12 months, compared to 24 months at the start of the project. They've created Grade A compost right in Makkovik, rivaling commercial products that would otherwise need to be shipped to the community at a high cost. The proof in the planting is already visible. At the project’s central research and community hub, Makkoviup Pigutsevingit (Makkovik Gardens), researchers and community members use the compost side-by-side in research, community learning, teaching, and demonstration beds to grow root vegetables, greens, onions, and even heritage rhubarb.
Community composting is turning waste into opportunity
Marilyn connects research with traditional Inuit knowledge to tackle food security challenges in her community. For her, the project isn’t just about growing food: it’s about growing pride, ownership, and possibilities for the future of Makkovik and neighbouring communities.
“The produce we grow in our research and teaching beds is shared with Makkovimmiut through health programs and community meals, with Seniors and compost collectors, and through ‘Sharing the Harvest’ days where anyone can pick up free crops harvested fresh from our gardens,” Marilyn says.
Since the project began, AAFC research technician Ulrica McKim, from the AgroClimate, Geomatics and Earth Observation and Agri-Environment Resilience team (ACGEO-AER) at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, has applied her expertise to refine the composting process in Makkovik, testing a wide variety of systems, including using repurposed second-hand fish tubs from the local fish plant. The compost piles are hand-built by the project team using a mix of local sustainable materials that are abundant in the coastal region. Willows and alders are chipped and combined with seaweed gathered in fish pans. The nutrient boost comes from kitchen waste that would otherwise be discarded in the landfill.
“We’re taking what we have and what would otherwise be thrown away and turning it into a resource to grow our own food,” Marilyn explains. “It’s about thinking outside the box and finding ways to make use of what’s already around us.”
Early composting experiments struggled due to a lack of nitrogen-rich ingredients and the challenges of composting in the short, cold, and windy sub-Arctic summer. But the addition of stockpiled kitchen waste from Makkovimmi Itjuligijet (Makkovik Composters), an engaged community network of year-round compost collectors, helped transform the effort into a fully functioning system.
In 2023, nine households (of 132 total households) and one business contributed kitchen waste towards the composting research. But with Marilyn as the driving force, the initiative quickly gained traction.
“I provided them a list of accepted kitchen waste and a bucket that I swap out weekly,” says Marilyn. “Over the last three years, people started reaching out after reading our community updates and monthly project newsletter, asking how they could participate, and it grew from there. It makes my heart burst to see my community getting involved and excited about how even small and simple contributions add up to reducing waste while helping to grow healthy, local food.”
As of 2026, more than 30 local households, businesses, and offices have collectively diverted 11.8 metric tonnes of kitchen waste from the landfill, channeling it instead into a compost recipe that has to date composted 25.9 metric tonnes of renewable local materials.
Community involvement and engagement is key to the project’s success and having local champions like Marilyn who are deeply tied to the community makes all the difference.
“You can compost just about anywhere, but you need the right people who can connect with the community to make it work,” Ulrica says. “Marilyn is that person. She’s built the trust and relationships that encourage participation.”
Nourishing a community, one waste bucket at a time
The Makkovik composting initiative embodies the spirit of sharing and resilience that defines Indigenous communities.
“When communities see themselves participating in a project, helping find solutions and knocking down barriers, it becomes everyone’s project and everyone’s success,” says Marilyn.
The project connects a diverse team of experienced harvesters, soil scientists, community leaders and educators, botanists and entomologists, students, carpenters, firehall volunteers, plant pathologists and physiologists, and an increasing number of skilled Makkovik growers, many of whom are long-time members of the Makkovik Seniors’ Gardening Program.
Makkovik AngajukKâk (mayor) Barry Andersen has been a partner in the research since its earliest planning days and is a strong advocate for its community-level benefits.
“The project brings Makkovimmiut together to learn from each other in many ways, building raised beds, staying active and trying new things to grow. This is one of the ways we are reducing the pressure on our landfill site with the food waste being diverted to the compost program and in turn benefits everyone.”
One of the most rewarding aspects has been seeing Makkovimmiut take ownership of the project. Community members have offered their own compost recipes, donated materials, and come by the gardens to check on progress, have a chat, and enjoy the harvest.
“What’s special about composting is that it’s so simple, anyone can do it,” says Marilyn. “When people see the results from composting and growing our own food in challenging conditions, they feel inspired to try it for themselves.”
The success of the compost project in Makkovik highlights the power of community-driven solutions in strengthening northern food systems.
As partnership research continues across all components of the Supporting Makkovimmiut Food Systems project, it is building an adaptable model for other communities in Nunatsiavut seeking to grow food sovereignty and sustainability.
Marilyn explains, “we’re showing Makkovik and other Nunatsiavut communities that it is possible to grow food locally. This project is about more than food. It is about learning from each other, working with what is already here, and using existing tools and knowledge in new ways to continue living off the land.”
Photo gallery
In-community Inuit Food Systems Research Technician with AAFC, Marilyn Faulkner (middle), along with AAFC researcher, Ulrica McKim (left), and Makkovik AngajukKâk (mayor) Barry Andersen (right) are instrumental in the growing success of the Supporting Makkovimmiut Food Systems project.
AAFC researchers and Makkovik community members have found a recipe for success in creating grade A compost at Makkoviup Pigutsevingit (Makkovik Gardens).
Marilyn tends to the leafy greens growing with the help of locally developed high-quality compost at Makkoviup Pigutsevingit (Makkovik Gardens).
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