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SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2014
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Malahat seeds scallop plant
Peter W. Rusland
News Leader Pictorial
A
n aquaculture centre, boat-ramp boardwalk, and timber harvesting are the anchors of economic growth for a rejuvenated Malahat Nation. Malahat elders under Chief Michael Harry outlined some of their band’s plans during Wednesday’s opening of Malahat’s cultural resource centre. The Chinese-owned aquaculture project, by the firm Dalin, involves scallop raising in pristine seas and could see more than $22 million invested in south Cowichan’s emerging economy. It could also spell 40 jobs in peak season, and 20 in the off- season, Harry and company explained. Dalin is hauling equipment to its one-acre site on seaside Malahat land, while awaiting federal and provincial permits, band administrator Lawrence Lewis said of the project, which is expected to cover 50 sea hectares. more on page 3
Andrew Leong
Approximately 200 people march their way along Duncan Street from Vancouver Island University’s Cowichan campus toward the Si’em Lelum Gym during the seventh-annual Walk of the Nations on May 31, an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate the rich diversity of the Cowichan Region.
Just another adventure of a lifetime for Chad Deetken Gobi Gallop: For this Chemainus man, a 700-kilometre horseback trek across the Mongolian desert is just another holiday
Kathy Santini
News Leader Pictorial
W
hen Helen Keller called life a daring adventure or nothing, she must have had people like 69-year-old Chad Deetken in mind. This Chemainus man’s next daring adventure will give him an experience he’ll never forget while benefiting poor children half a world away. Deetken leaves today for Mongolia to participate in the second-annual Gobi Gallop. He will join others in travelling 70 kilometres per day,
for eight hours a day, over 10 days. They will be on horseback, galloping across the steppes of Mongolia to benefit a charity called the Veloo Foundation. The Mongolian ride brings an episode in his life full-circle. Forty-three years ago in November 1971, weather and the time of year forced him to abandon his lifelong dream of riding a camel caravan across Afghanistan and points beyond. “I never really got over the disappointment of having missed out on that adventure,” he said. “That is, until now.” The cost of his Gobi escapade, not including airfare is $2,000 US. Half of it will go to the foundation. Julie Veloo created the foundation after discovering proud, self-sufficient Mongolians reduced to combing through garbage dumps after a brutal winter in 2009-10 killed nearly nine million of their animals and their nomadic way of life. What touched Veloo the most was the plight
Blue Cheese Crumbles
of the children. Many helped their parents sift through garbage, while others, not much older than the younger siblings they were supervising, babysat in freezing, cold houses, without food or heat. Today, as a result of her efforts and generous donations, the Children of the Peak Sanctuary supports 40 children from underprivileged families who have migrated from rural areas to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. The children’s social, intellectual and physical development is stimulated through group play, educational games and educating both children and parents about nutrition and hygiene. The Gobi Gallop might count as the adventure of a lifetime for some. Not Deetken. He has backpacked through Asia, climbed Mt. Everest to the base camp without a Sherpa, trekked up Mt. Kilimanjaro, and explored the jungles of Borneo. And he didn’t stop there. Despite not being able to tell a half-hitch from a halyard, Deetken built a sailboat in Los Angeles and on his maiden voyage sailed to a sweet
courtesy Chad Deetken
Chemainus resident Chad Deetken loves horseback riding, but June marks the first time he will be able to ride across the Gobi Desert. little town, “down the coast.” Mazatlán, Mexico is 1,665 kilometres south of L.A. “I sailed through quite a gale,” he said. more on page 9
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