Hope keeps blooming
Photo: Randal Tomada
The good news keeps coming for Hope Blooms. Last November, six young entrepreneurs from the North End community garden and salad dressing business appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, walking away with $40,000. They intended to use the to expand and build a year-round greenhouse but Build Right Nova Scotia, a partnership between unionized contractors and the building trades, have stepped in, donating all of the supplies and labour for the greenhouse.
“I’d been watching the Dragons’ Den episode, and it struck a chord,” says Jon Mullin, a director with Build Right Nova Scotia who will also be the lead contractor on the project. “We said, ‘why don’t we let these kids keep their 40,000 bucks to grow their business instead?’ They’ve got a lot of great ideas, and if they have a little bit of money, they can do a lot.”
Once plans are finalized, the greenhouse will take about one month to build in the Murray Warrington Park area. Three members of the group—Bocar Wade, Kolade Kolawole-Bobeye and Katrina (last name withheld)—are interested in careers in the trades and architecture, so they’ve been working with Build Right Nova Scotia and the architects to design the environmentally-friendly structure. They’ll also help build the greenhouse.
“This greenhouse will give us a new, cool space that we helped create to grow our social enterprise, make a bigger difference in our community and grow our scholarship fund,” says Tiffany Calvin, the 12-year-old spokesperson for Hope Blooms. “We want everyone in the community to know they are part of this and are welcome in our new greenhouse. This is for all of us.”
This story was originally published in Halifax Magazine.
Latest
