Established as a registered charity in 2004, Shorefast was created to build economic and cultural resilience on Fogo Island, Newfoundland – a region previously devastated by the decline of the cod fishery. With an enduring commitment to Fogo Island, Shorefast is expanding its work for greater reach by sharing new models of place-based economic development with other communities, big and small.
Shorefast’s charitable programs comprise a holistic set of initiatives that hold relevance to community economic development – making it possible for local communities to thrive in the global economy.
Community Economies Pilot
The Community Economies Pilot aims to answer the question “How do we strengthen community economies?”. The Pilot is a pan-Canadian initiative founded on the understanding that the unit of change is community, that capital must be employed to empower communities, and that place-based approaches are needed to deliver lasting solutions that scale.
Community Economies Pilot
The Community Economies Pilot aims to answer the question “How do we strengthen community economies?”. The Pilot is a pan-Canadian initiative founded on the understanding that the unit of change is community, that capital must be employed to empower communities, and that place-based approaches are needed to deliver lasting solutions that scale.
Place-based economic development is both unwaveringly specific and universally applicable; learnings from on-the-ground community development practice can be adapted to other communities, big and small. Five entrepreneurial communities across Canada have been engaged by Shorefast to contribute to the Pilot as “Prototype Communities”: South Vancouver Island, BC; Hamilton, ON; London, ON; Prince Edward County, ON; and Fogo Island, NL. Together, the Prototype Communities are working to distil place-based know-how, identify best and promising practices for community-based economic development, and inform the development of tools to amplify the body of knowledge. The Prototype Communities are the first cohort towards Shorefast’s longer-term vision of a Community Economies Network. The Pilot is tackling the following focus areas:
What Collaborative and Governance Structures are needed to advance local economies?
How do we Build Capacity at the local community level?
What Data do we need, where do we get it, who controls it, and where do we store it?
How do we Attract and Retain Capital in communities?
What Policy Environments will enable local economic agency?
What is the role of Philanthropy in community economic development?
Fogo Island Arts
Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art and ideas organization that supports research, production and exchange for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers and thinkers from around the world.
To learn more, visit fogoislandarts.ca.
Fogo Island Arts
Fogo Island Arts is a residency-based contemporary art and ideas organization that supports research, production and exchange for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers and thinkers from around the world.
To learn more, visit fogoislandarts.ca.
Environmental Stewardship
Shorefast is committed to a multi-pronged set of initiatives to engender a higher-fidelity relationship with the oceans. This includes our New Ocean Ethic program, exploration into seaweed farming and other place-based initiatives to help meet the climate challenge.
Environmental Stewardship
Shorefast is committed to a multi-pronged set of initiatives to engender a higher-fidelity relationship with the oceans. This includes our New Ocean Ethic program, exploration into seaweed farming and other place-based initiatives to help meet the climate challenge.
The New Ocean Ethic is led by Gordon Slade, C.M., and helps to remind us that if we are to continue to benefit from our relationship with the sea, we must rethink the way we use its resources and exist responsibly on its shores. All New Ocean Ethic projects to date are outlined in the Shorefast 2018 New Ocean Ethic Booklet.
Heritage Restorations
Shorefast has invested in restoring a number of heritage homes, churches, and public buildings in order to preserve, share, and foster contemporary relevance for the traditional ways of knowing that tie people to place.
Heritage Restorations
Shorefast has invested in restoring a number of heritage homes, churches, and public buildings in order to preserve, share, and foster contemporary relevance for the traditional ways of knowing that tie people to place.
The wooden structures of Fogo Island have withstood the harshest Northeast gails and year after year of rain, snowm and ice. The good news? Salt air preserves, and there is a lot of life left in even the most neglected of buildings in our community.
Devoted to knowledge preservation as well as encouraging engagement with the heritage assets of the inshore fishery, the Punt Premises is an example of Shorefast’s many heritage restoration projects. The Punt Premises is home to Shorefast’s fleet of punt boats, an evolving curation of cultural artifacts including cod traps and items associated with their making, mending, knots, boatbuilding tools, fishing gear, photos, and more. The Punt Premises brings to life how a family made a living in the vibrant inshore fishing era on which our outport culture was founded.
Business Incubation
Business is a tool that belongs to all of us. It is a means to develop the capacities inherent in people and communities, to generate employment and build meaningful connections between people and places. Modelled after the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank, the Shorefast Business Assistance Fund provides micro-loans on friendly terms to start or develop locally-owned businesses on Fogo Island. It has supported ventures of varying shapes and sizes, including tourism operators, hospitality establishments and restaurants.
Business Incubation
Business is a tool that belongs to all of us. It is a means to develop the capacities inherent in people and communities, to generate employment and build meaningful connections between people and places. Modelled after the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank, the Shorefast Business Assistance Fund provides micro-loans on friendly terms to start or develop locally-owned businesses on Fogo Island. It has supported ventures of varying shapes and sizes, including tourism operators, hospitality establishments and restaurants.
For residents of Fogo Island or Change Islands who are interested in applying for a friendly loan through Shorefast’s Business Assistance Fund, please contact [email protected].
Geology at the Edge
Fogo Island is a geologist’s dream. With hundreds of millions of years of geological history below our feet, and as one of the few places in the world where the entirety of a magma chamber can be observed, we knew we had to find ways to share the fascinating geology of this place with practitioners, researchers, and community members. Shorefast's Geology at the Edge geologist-in-residence program, led by geologist Paul Dean, is Canada’s first community-based geology program.
Geology at the Edge
Fogo Island is a geologist’s dream. With hundreds of millions of years of geological history below our feet, and as one of the few places in the world where the entirety of a magma chamber can be observed, we knew we had to find ways to share the fascinating geology of this place with practitioners, researchers, and community members. Shorefast's Geology at the Edge geologist-in-residence program, led by geologist Paul Dean, is Canada’s first community-based geology program.
Under the GatE program, prominent geologists with varying specialties come to Fogo Island for periods ranging from a few weeks to a few months. They perform research, lead geology walks, and make public presentations in the Fogo Island Inn cinema that are always well-attended by guests and community members alike.
In July 2017, Shorefast and the Geology at the Edge program were proud to open the Fogo Island Geology Centre in the community of Shoal Bay. Located in the former St. Simon’s church, the renovation and repurposing of this historic building was made possible by the generous contribution of Husky Energy. In addition to hosting a permanent collection of geological specimens, maps, and interactive learning materials, the Centre will serve as a venue for exciting geology programming including youth workshops, lectures, and special events.
