SUUPET NEREGKWARLUKI we are feeding our people
MARLENE'S GARDEN
Our Mission
Native Village of Larsen Bay
P.O. Box 50 Larsen Bay, Alaska, 99624
Phone:(907) 847-2207
"Putting our community first by providing quality product at a fair price to promote healthy living through food stability."
Our Farm
Established in 2015, Marlene's Garden is tribally owned by the Native Village of Larsen Bay and named after a beloved Larsen Bay Elder, Marlene Kenoyer.
Skilled grower Sam Kenoyer has dedicated his time to managing and operating Marlene's Garden since its establishment. With seasonal help from interns and growers Desiree Leach and Max Lyons, they proudly grow a large variety of crops organically and sustainably with, as Sam himself says, "tender love and care". Sam also has hands on assistance from his grandkids during the summer months. Marlene’s Garden is truly a family and community operation.
Marlene's Garden manages a soil farm and two hoop houses March through October with hydroponic cabinets for year-round growing. Sam, Desi, and Max cultivate an assortment of squashes, garlics, and herbs. Along with raising chickens, their crops include lettuces, broccoli, snap peas, lots of carrots, turnips, radishes, and so much more. Our growers in Larsen Bay are talented agriculturists who utilize and manage comfrey compost, crop rotation, and even the 'three sisters' method to grow beans, corn, and squash. They successfully practice traditional and new techniques for growing food in realizing food sovereignty for their community.
The bounty of food that the farm produces provides for the entire Larsen Bays community including the surrounding hunting lodges, commercial fishing boats, and nearby fish processor. Marlene's Garden is aiding in passing agricultural knowledge to the next generation while building economic opportunity and has plans to send surplus crops into the town of Kodiak.
Keep an eye out on Alutiiq Grown and the farms social media to keep up with all the amazing things Marlene’s Gardens is doing!
Honoring Elder Marlene Kenoyer
A bright light in the local community and all of Kodiak, Marlene was born and raised in Larsen Bay. She was a skilled master gardener who was brought up in the traditional Larsen Bay subsistence lifestyle of raising chickens and geese and tending gardens of cabbage, rutabaga, potatoes, and more.
Throughout the entirety of her life, she carried and shared this knowledge with the whole community and her children. She not only inspired through teaching but through her example, positively impacting all those who met her. The students at the Larsen Bay School chose to commend her many contributions to the community by dedicating the garden with her name. Her husband Sam Kenoyer continues her legacy through his farming of Marlene's Garden. Marlene’s hands are on the farm’s logo.
