A greenhouse in the MHA nation is complete. It's set to produce nearly 2 million pounds of food every year. The Native Green Grow greenhouse is equivalent to 14 football fields. Architect Randy Lindemann said Phase 1 can feed at least 25,000 people every year.
"That's on the average of about 70 pounds of fresh produce per person," said Lindemann. And it's not just that. MHA Nation Chairman Mark Fox said they hope to sell some of it.
The total NG2 Gas Capture Greenhouse project is a 40-acre, multi-phase project located in Parshall, ND, on the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation (FBIR) to achieve food sovereignty for the MHA Nation. The completed project will contain a 412,000 SF greenhouse (3 phases), an administrative building, a raw gas refinery plant, and an on-site sale marketplace.
"We're growing food not just for our own consumption, but for exportation as well. We'll export it to people who want to buy," said Fox. With that comes more job opportunities for North Dakotans. The operation will use flared gas from oil wells on the Fort Bethold Reservation and convert it into heat, CO2, and the power to grow all these plants.
"Capturing this gas, giving purpose for that, and growing food all year long is really a critical need," said Fox. The five-year-long construction project faced challenges such as delays during the pandemic, increasing costs, and having to build through the winter. But now organizers finally get to call it a dream come true.
Read more and watch the video at KFYR TV
