Sustaining Tahlequah

A new group hopes to teach area residents how to become more self-sufficient – like folks used to be.

By TRAVINA COLEMAN

Down a winding road, just off State Highway 10, a community is on its way to becoming more self-sufficient.

And it’s a trend the Sustainable Tahlequah program hopes will grow exponentially.

Leslie Moyer, a core member of Sustainable Tahlequah, said the group is encouraging others to learn how to grow their own food, and live on what they already have.

“Right now, we need to consider local food sources,” Moyer said. “The Tahlequah Farmers’ Market is doing a great job encouraging people to buy locally grown produce.”

But sustainability is more than just growing food to feed your family.

“Our mission is to explore the meaning of ‘sustainability’ with the greater Tahlequah community and discover, demonstrate, model and facilitate activities that move the community toward a more and more sustainable future,” Moyer said.

John Cutrell, with the Community Association of Sparrow Hawk Village, is working on a project that will allow his community to collect rainwater for irrigating the garden and greenhouse.

“We are building a system that will catch and store enough rainwater to supply the irrigation needs of the garden and greenhouse, year-round,” Cutrell said.

Cutrell said a grant from the Oklahoma Water Resource Board, with the cooperation of Cherokee Rural Water District 12, has community members excited.

“We want to become more sustainable,” he said. “It’s important to conserve what water we get.”

He said Tahlequah gets around 48 inches of rain a year, so it’s a great place to start this type of project.

“The rain coming off the roof will go through the gutters and into a retaining pond here,” he said, pointing to the back of the community building. “One inch of rain on the roof will give about 3,000 gallons of water. The water is then going to be pumped into the building next to it, where it will be put into a pressurized tank and then released through irrigation pumps in the garden.”

Cutrell said the project will also equip a residence with a similar system, which will collect rainwater and store it in a tank for use in irrigation and flushing toilets.

“Did you know 39 percent of water used in the United States is used to flush toilets?” he asked.

He added that the water collected will not be used for drinking because of all the impurities in it.

Sustainable Tahlequah will be meeting at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 at Sparrow Hawk Village. At that time, the group will tour the Sparrow Hawk Village water collection site.

“We are going to see how it’s working for them,” Moyer said. “We plan on having a structured conversation about how to meet Tahlequah’s needs.”

Moyer said 50 years ago, people were more self-sustaining than they are now.

“We have moved away from that rather quickly,” she said. “But it wouldn’t be that difficult to fill in those pieces. We have gotten away from a local economy, but Tahlequah has so much going for it. It has a lot of assets, and there is a lot to work with.”

And the food supply isn’t the only issue.

“It’s not just the production of the food,” Moyer said. “It’s the transportation and distribution, too. The whole chain went away.”

But she believes Oklahomans have the ability, with just a little education and planning, to really get involved in growing and processing food.

“There’s a new local chicken plant that just opened,” she said. “They raise their own chickens and they taste like chicken is supposed to taste. The chickens are 7 to 9 pounds and cost me $5 apiece. I filled my freezer full.”

Cutrell said it’s a good way to keep the local economy flourishing.

“You don’t have to drive to Arkansas to get your chickens dressed,” he said. “And the money stays local.”