Alaska Facts and Stories

In a wooden shop at the base of the Chilkat mountains in Haines Alaska, Graham builds skis. Built around the values of self-reliance and sustainability, Fairweather Ski Works handcrafts skis and snowboards out of locally harvested Sitka Spruce and birch wood. They take advantage of the plethora of quality wood available to a motivated person with a chainsaw, and source all of the wood for their skis by salvage logging. Once they have the raw material, all of the production all takes place in their shop which mitigates the fuel consumption of shipping and keeps jobs in the Haines community. This sort of small-scale timber harvest and local value-adding production benefits both economies and ecosystems and produces high-quality skis to tackle glaciers, powder days, and everything in-between. Fairweather Ski Works “evolved organically into what it is today because of our love of the wilderness and connection to our environment” and they are continuing to nurture their community and environment by sustainably producing Wild Alaska Skis!

Fisheye Coffee is the preferred drive-thru coffee shop in Sitka, but owner Caitlin Way, a 20-something Alaska Native woman, has bigger dreams for her small business. Inspired by her passions for teaching yoga and personal training, Caitlin aims to incorporate social and cultural change in her business. She envisions her coffee shop providing wholesome alternatives to traditional drive-thru food and beverages that have made eating on the go unhealthy. Unfortunately, Fisheye Coffee’s opportunity for growth was initially stifled by the limitations of a restrictive family loan and the inability to obtain traditional financing. With a small business loan through Spruce Root, however, Caitlin now has the opportunity to explore her culinary skills and invest in her business. Caitlin has also benefited from the business coaching and mentoring offered by the Spruce Root team. In fact, Caitlin strongly believes that even if she ultimately did not receive a loan, the knowledge she gained while going through the process was invaluable. “Spruce Root has been so patient and helpful to me!” Caitlin said. She has immense gratitude for the Spruce Root team and all of their support and guidance.